Upcoming events

JLI come and join the new six week course on “fascinating Facts”: exploring the myths & mysteries of judiasm, we’ll share a treasure-trove of ideas & insights on such diverse topics as ‘the evil eye’, ‘what kind of tree was the tree of knowledge’ and do jews believe in satan’.

-We start on Monday 7th of November at 8:30 pm at JBC(5th floor) To Register, visit www.myjli.com

The weekly lunch and learn will be on Mondays from 12:30 -1:30 pm At Harry Elias Partnership,4 Shenton Way, SGX Centre 2, #17-01Singapore, For more info contact Sroli.

One on one learning with  the Yeshiva Boys for adults and children is continuing again . For more info Contact Sroli

 Weekly Parshah shiur in Hebrew: The whole community is invited to an in-depth study of the pasrsha spoken in  Hebrew. Every Wednesday night  9:00 pm at JBC 5th floor. For more info please contact Netanel

Parasha in a Nutshell

 Noach : Genesis 6:9-11:32

G-d instructs Noah -- the only righteous man in a world consumed by violence and corruption -- to build a large wooden teivah ("ark"), coated within and without with pitch. A great deluge, says G-d, will wipe out all life from the face of the earth; but the ark will float upon the water, sheltering Noah and his family, and two members (male and female) of each animal species.

Rain falls for 40 days and nights, and the waters churn for 150 days more before calming and beginning to recede. The ark settles on Mount Ararat, and from its window Noah dispatches a raven, and then a series of doves, "to see if the waters were abated from the face of the earth." When the ground dries completely -- exactly one solar year (365 days) after the onset of the Flood -- G-d commands Noah to exit the teivah and repopulate the earth.

Noah builds an altar and offers sacrifices to G-d. G-d swears never again to destroy all of mankind because of their deeds, and sets the rainbow as a testimony of His new covenant with man. G-d also commands Noah regarding the sacredness of life: murder is deemed a capital offense, and while man is permitted to eat the meat of animals, he is forbidden to eat flesh or blood taken from a living animal.

Noah plants a vineyard and becomes drunk on its produce. Two of Noah's sons, Shem and Japeth, are blessed for covering up their father's nakedness, while his third son, Ham, is cursed for taking advantage of his debasement.

The descendants of Noah remain a single people, with a single language and culture, for ten generations. Then they defy their Creator by building a great tower to symbolize their own invincibility; G-d confuses theirlanguage so that "one does not comprehend the tongue of the other," causing them to abandon their project and disperse across the face of the earth, splitting into seventy nations.

The Parshah of Noach concludes with a chronology of the ten generations from Noah to Abram (later Abraham), and the latter's journey from his birthplace of Ur Casdim to Charan, on the way to the Land of Canaan

Weekly Shabbat lunch sponsor

This week's Shabbat lunch is sponsored by :

 Frank & Mavis Benjamin in remembrance of the deep bond of friendship with the late Abraham Elisha o.b.m. whose yahzreit will be commemorated on 2 November 2011. 

The Seuda Shelishit is sponsored by:

David and Caren Srolovitz in memory of
David's late father Huna Chaim Srolovitz o.b.m.

Our Shabbat lunches offer a beautiful opportunity to meet fellow
Jews from all over the world as well as much needed hospitality to
young students, guests and visitors who would not otherwise enjoy
the Shabbat experience. We hope that you will partner with us in
sponsoring these lunches and help us provide much
needed hospitality every Shabbat. Please contact us at :

enquiries@jwb.org.sg

Main article

My kind of hero

The world loves a hero. Every season, Hollywood has to invent new heroes and superheroes to fill the box office coffers. And it works. Why? Well, that's for another sermon. Today, I choose to talk about Who is a Hero and, more specifically, Who is My Kind of Hero.

Superheroes are fantastic. But you've got to admit, they're over the top, rather otherworldly and, realistically speaking, beyond our reach. We can fantasize about flying through the skies in our capes, climbing skyscrapers with our webs and rescuing damsels in distress, but at the end of the day, it is nothing more than wistful daydreaming. What bearing does it have on me and my life, me and my problems? The answer is, not much.

That's why Noah always appealed to me. He comes across as a real live hero, real in the sense of being human rather than superhuman and, therefore, realistically possible to emulate.

Rashi describes Noah as a man of "small faith" who had doubts whether the flood would actually happen. In fact, according to the great commentator's understanding, he didn't enter the Ark until the rains actually started and the floodwaters pushed him in. That explains why many people look down on Noah, especially when they compare him to other Biblical superheroes, people of the stature of Abraham or Moses.

Personally, this is precisely what makes Noah my kind of hero. He's real. He's human. He has doubts, just like you and me. I know we are supposed to say, "When will my actions match those of the great patriarchs of old?" but I confess, for me that's a tall order. Noah, on the other hand, is a regular guy. He is plagued by doubts and struggles with his faith. But at the end of the day, Noah does the job. He builds the ark,shleps in all the animals, saves civilization and goes on to rebuild a shattered world. Doubts, shmouts, he did what had to be done.

There is an old Yiddish proverb, Fun a kasha shtarbt men nit--"Nobody ever died of a question." It's not the end of the world if you didn't get an answer to all your questions. We can live with unanswered questions. The main thing is not to allow ourselves to become paralyzed by our doubts. We can still do what has to be done, despite our doubts.

Of course, I'd love to be able to answer every question every single one of my congregants ever has. But the chances are that I will not be able to solve every single person's doubts and dilemmas. And, frankly speaking, I am less concerned about their doubts than about their deeds. From a question nobody ever died. It's how we behave that matters most.

So Noah, the reluctant hero, reminds us that you don't have to be fearless to get involved. You don't have to be a tzaddik to do a mitzvah. You don't have to be holy to keep kosher, nor do you have to be a professor to come to a Torah class.

Perhaps his faith was a bit wobbly in the knees, but he got the job done. My kind of hero

Elite kosher shop

The Kosher shop stocks a wide range of products such as meats (imported from Australia),
poultry, dairy products, as well as a large variety of wines. 

                        
The Kosher Shop also just received a wide range of products form Israel at very affordable prices such as popular snacks (Bissli etc…), canned foods and much more.

 The Awafi Restaurant

Open for Lunch and Dinner To make a reservation call 6336. 5166
Also serving breakfast every morning after Shacharit.Awafi also provides for outside catering.
 Feel free to contact us at: 6336 5166 

Halacha Corner

 1. The prohibition against telling many people L"H

It is forbidden to speak Lashon Hara against one another, even if the information is true, and even if told to only one person - all the more so is it forbidden to speak L"H before a group of listeners.  The greater the number of listeners that one gathers to hear his L"H, the greater his sin, for the subject is further disgraced by the heightened publicity against him.  Also, the speaker causes more people to sin by putting them in the position to listen to L"H. 

2. Lashon Hara Meant as a Joke

Know further about the severity of the prohibition against Lashon Hara, that even if the speaker is not speaking out of hatred, and does not intend for his statements to be derogatory, but rather only spoken in jest and lightheadedness, even so since they are in truth derogatory statements they are forbidden according to Torah law. 

Growing Each Day-With Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski

Cause us to lie down, Hashem, our God, in peace, and cause us to rise up again to life and peace (Siddur).

I once asked a recovered alcoholic with many years of sobriety to share his experiences with a newcomer who was unable to understand how, after so many years of dependence on alcohol, someone under stress could avoid recourse to drink.

"It's simple," the veteran said. "Every morning when I get up, I ask God to help me stay sober one more day. Every night when I retire, I thank Him for having given me another day of sobriety, and hope that He will do the same for me tomorrow."

The novice listened in partial disbelief. "How do you know it was God that gave you the day of sobriety?" he asked.

The old-timer responded, "How stupid can you get? I hadn't asked anyone else!"

It is amazing how we sometimes complicate things that are quite simple.

Each night we entrust our weary soul to God, and each morning He not only returns it to us, but gives it to us in a refreshed state. Indeed, if we ask Him sincerely to cleanse it for us by removing the sins that stained it during the day, we can be assured that this request too will be granted, as long as it is sincere - because an honest request constitutes teshuvah, and the combination of repentance and faith is certain to earn us forgiveness

Arseth

2 Oct / 5 Cheshvan

Abraham Elisha ben rahel

Isaac Ben Yaakov

 3 Oct / 5 Cheshvan

Sarah  bat Mitana Cohen        

 May Their Memory Be A Blessing

Today in Jewish history...

30 Tishrei

 -Israeli forces trap the Egyptian 3rd army on the eastern side of the Suez during the Yom Kippur War, 1973.

1 MarCheshvan

-Biblical plague of Dever.

-The seventh and last of the Crusades ended, 1270.

 -Rabbi Yehuda HaChasid arrived in Jerusalem, 1700. He died 3 days later. A shul was built on land he had purchased for that purpose, and was named for him. The Arabs burned the shul in 1720. It was rebuilt in 1837 and destroyed by the Arabs again in 1948. Today it is known as the Hurva.

 3 MarCheshvan

-King Cyrus of Persia formally occupied Babylon, 579 b.c.e.

-Last of 16,000 Jews of England expelled by King Edward I left, 1290.

 4 MarCheshvan

-Rambam reached Jerusalem, 1165, six months after his arrival in Eretz Yisrael. He and his family celebrated the date as a private holiday.

-Torquemada was appointed Inquisitor-General of Spain, 1483.

-Yahrzeit of Rabbi Yehuda HaChasid, leader of a large Ashkenazi aliya, 1700 - 3 days after his arrival. (The "Hurva" was originally the shul named for him.)

 5 MarCheshvan

-Jews of Landau, Germany, ordered to wear yellow badge, 1468 (notice that the yellow badge was not invented by the Nazis).

-Yahrzeit of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsch Kalischer, 1874.

 6 MarCheshvan 

-King of Siciliy forbids decorating the outside of Shuls, 1366.

 The Jews of Singapore

A history of the Jews in Singapore Now available in the Elite Kosher Shop
2nd Level, JBC Or call Kosher Shop 6337 2189

Ongoing Events & Programs

Weekly Minyan, stories and snacks for children after reading of the Torah. For more info contact The boys.
One on one learning with the Yeshiva Boys for adults and children. Contact Mrs. Rivni@ 92327095.
Lunch & Learn Tuesdays at Awafi, JBC. Contact Rabbi Abergel
Talmud class every Wednesday@ 9:00pm in tractate Sanhedrin. Contact Rabbi Abergel
Mikva: Mrs. Simcha Abergel 9673 9184
Mrs. Odelia Rivni 9232 7095
(Appointments at least one day before)

Yeshiva Boys

• Mendy Ash: 9459 8690
• Yisroel Drihem: 9459 8125
• Dovid Knapp: 9459 8152
• Sroli Gutnick: 9384 3236
• Mendel Kranz : 9488 8610
• JWB Offices, Julia: 6337 2189 ext 103
• Awafi Restaurant, Sushil: 6336 5166
• Kosher Shop, Maya: 6337 2189 ext 107

www.singaporejews.com
enquiries@jwb.org.sg