THE JEWISH WELFARE BOARD

Upcoming events

        · NEW!: Teenage Girls Program  -we are excited to announce the launch of the new teenage program for girls,   Join us for cooking classes, movie nights, trips and much more! For more information contact Nivi Moss 91758653 or email: nivi.moss@gmail.com

· Comedy night- “A funny thing happened to me on the way to enlightment” join us for an inspirational talk by author and screen writer Lenny Ravich, about looking at the lighter side of life. Monday 7th of November at JBC 5th floor at 5:30 pm. Teens $20, Adults $25, Family $75. all proceeds will be donated to a home for children at risk “Or Simchah” in Israel. For reservations and  information call Ben 91467073 ben@milsteins.net

· Chanukah Boys Choir - Let your children come and join the choir led by our experienced yeshivah boys! There will be weekly practice sessions  every Monday until Chanukah (Dec 26th) at 4:30 pm at JBC.       Ages 6-12. For more info contact David or Yisroel

· Yitzhak Rabin memorial night - Tuesday 8th of November JBC 5th floor,                                                8pm - memorial service, 8:15 pm Screening of “filmed by Yitzhak”, 2009 ( 50 min, with English subtitles) 

· 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

·   

Parasha in a Nutshell

 Lech lecha - Genesis 12:1–17:27

G‑d speaks to Abram, commanding him, “Go from your land, from your birthplace and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you.” There, G‑d says, he will be made into a great nation. Abram and his wife, Sarai, accompanied by his nephew Lot, journey to the land of Canaan, where Abram builds an altar and continues to spread the message of a one G‑d.

A famine forces the first Jew to depart for Egypt, where beautiful Sarai is taken to Pharaoh’s palace; Abram escapes death because they present themselves as brother and sister. A plague prevents the Egyptian king from touching her, and convinces him to return her to Abram and to compensate the brother-revealed-as-husband with gold, silver and cattle.

Back in the land of Canaan, Lot separates from Abram and settles in the evil city of Sodom, where he falls captive when the mighty armies of Chedorlaomer and his three allies conquer the five cities of the Sodom Valley. Abram sets out with a small band to rescue his nephew, defeats the four kings, and is blessed by Malki-Zedek the king of Salem (Jerusalem).

G-d seals the Covenant Between the Parts with Abram, in which the exile and persecution (galut) of the people of Israel is foretold, and the Holy Land is bequeathed to them as their eternal heritage.

Still childless ten years after their arrival in the Land, Sarai tells Abram to marry her maidservant Hagar. Hagar conceives, becomes insolent toward her mistress, and then flees when Sarai treats her harshly; an angel convinces her to return, and tells her that her son will father a populous nation. Ishmael is born in Abram’s eighty-sixth year.

Thirteen years later, G‑d changes Abram’s name to Abraham (“father of multitudes”), and Sarai’s to Sarah (“princess”), and promises that a son will be born to them; from this child, whom they should call Isaac (“will laugh”), will stem the great nation with which G‑d will establish His special bond. Abraham is commanded to circumcise himself and his descendants as a “sign of the covenant between Me and you.” Abraham immediately complies, circumcising himself and all the males of his household.

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

The Eight-Day-Old Jew

And on the eighth day," the Torah instructs, "the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised." The requirement of circumcision at the tender age of eight days raises an important question:

Why is the eternal covenant of divine manifestation granted to an infant, who is completely oblivious to its distinction? Furthermore, how can we know if the infant will ever learn to appreciate it? Shouldn't we wait till he has demonstrated at least a modicum of commitment before we bestow such a gift upon him?

We are connected to G-d on two separate levels: the experiential and the intrinsic.

The experiential bond is determined by the degree of our devotion to G-d. The greater our passion is for G-d, the more will we want to seek Him out. The greater our yearning for G-d, the more committed we will be to His commandments.

On this level, we fulfill his instructions because we love Him and desire His closeness. We understand that every commandment is a channel for connection, and every transgression is the severance of a channel. The intensity of this bond depends completely upon us. We can build it and we can sever it.

The intrinsic bond works in the reverse: from the top down rather than the bottom up. G-d has bound Himself to our essence, thereby forging an intrinsic connection with us. This bond is inescapable. Whether we are cognizant of it or oblivious to it, we and G-d are forever one.

This intrinsic bond is not adjustable. Our sins don't diminish it and ourmitzvahs don't enhance it. It is a bond with the infinite, and the infinite cannot be adjusted. The pious and the wicked, the honest and the corrupt, the scholar and the simpleton are identically and inherently bound to G-d.

The experiential bond is our connection with G-d. The intrinsic bond is G-d's connection with us. While we might terminate our relationship with G-d, G-d never terminates his relationship with us.

It is this intrinsic bond that is reflected in the circumcision's covenant of divine manifestation. The covenant is deliberately administered during infancy because the infant is completely oblivious to the magnitude of its impact. The infant's cognizance of its manifestation is completely immaterial to this bond. It is not enhanced by his allegiance nor can it be diminished by his perfidy.

Though the experiential and intrinsic bonds are independent of each other, they nevertheless affect each other. When our intrinsic bond is pronounced, our experiential bond is strengthened. As we said, the intrinsic bond represents G-d's connection with us, while the experiential bond represents our connection with G-d. When G-d sees that we pronounce His connection with us, He is willing to strengthen and support our connection with Him.

We pronounce His connection with us through circumcision. G-d strengthens our connection with Him through the Land of Israel. This is perhaps why the Land of Israel was promised to the Jewish people in reward for keeping the mitzvah of circumcision.

The prophet Isaiah writes, "As a young man espouses a maiden, so shall your children settle in you; and like the bridegroom's rejoicing over his bride, so shall your G-d rejoice over you."5 This verse informs us that when we settle the land of Israel, G-d rejoices over us, which in turn inspires us to relate to Him as a bride would to her groom--the experiential bond.

This is why Isaiah employs the analogy of the love between husband and wife in this verse. The bond between a bride and groom is experiential. They have no intrinsic love for each other (such as exists intrinsically between a parent and child or between siblings, for example) for they aren't joined at their essence. Their love fluctuates. As their marriage grows, so does their love. As their love grows, so does their attraction to each other.

Their relationship is analogous to the experiential bond between G-d and the Jewish people. Thus, when we settle in our land G-d "rejoices over us as a bridegroom over his bride." This in turn strengthens our bride-like connection to G-d--our experiential bond.

The experiential bond tends to fluctuate depending on our environment. The environment in the Land of Israel enhances this bond in ways that are simply not possible in the Diaspora.

A Jew in Israel is spiritually more open to inspiration. The Torah can only be fully appreciated and understood in the Land of Israel.6 Many of the Torah's commandments are only applicable in the Land of Israel. With the exception of Moses, every one of our Prophets lived, at least for awhile, in the Holy Land. This land opens many lines of connection that are simply not available in the Diaspora. These lines of connection are the life force of our experiential bond.

It is fitting that we merit to settle in the Land of Israel in reward for the mitzvah of circumcision. In circumcision we give expression to G-d's intrinsic bond with us. Through the Land of Israel, G-d gives expression to our experiential bond with Him.

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 of Rechilut

One who speaks Rechilut about his fellow violates a Torah prohibition: "Lo telech rachil b'ameicha" - do not go about as a talebearer among your people (Lev 19:16). This is a severe sin, as it causes much spiritual bloodshed within the Jewish people, which is why the Torah continues, "Lo tamod al dam re'eicha" - do not stand upon (i.e. allow the shedding of) the blood of your fellow (ibid).

Learn from what happened from the Rechilut of Doeg the Edomite (Samuel I 21-22), [in which he told King Saul that the priest Achimelech of Nob gave David food and weapon as David was fleeing from Saul, and upon hearing what Achimelech did for his rival David, Saul commanded that] the entire Priestly City of Nob be annihilated.This prohibition ("Lo telech rachil b'ameicha") is the Torah's explicit prohibition against such speech, although one violates many others, as discussed in the introduction to Sefer Chafetz Chaim. 

2. A Description of the Speaker of Rechilut

A talebearer (Heb. rachil) is one who carries tales among people, saying, "This is what Ploni said about you..." "this is what Ploni did to you..." or "this is what I heard about someone that he did or wants to do to you...." ["Ploni" and "Plonit" are the male and female Hebrew words used for an anonymous person; in English "so-and-so"; might be used in this context.  to depict several anonymous individuals.

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

 And you shall love Hashem your God ... (Deuteronomy 6:5)

And you shall love your neighbor as yourself... (Leviticus 19:18).

Both of these statements are positive commandments. We might ask: How can a commandment demand that we feel something? Since love is an emotion, it is either there or it is not there.

The Torah does not hold that love is something spontaneous. On the contrary, it teaches that we can and should cultivate love. No one has the liberty to say: "There are some people whom I just do not like," nor even, "I cannot possibly like that person because he did this and that to me."

We have within us innate attractions to God and to other people. If we do not feel love for either of them, it is because we have permitted barriers to develop that interfere with this natural attraction, much as insulation can block a magnet's inherent attraction for iron. If we remove the barriers, the love will be forthcoming.

The barriers inside us come from defects in our character. When we improve ourselves, our bad character traits fall away, and as they fall away, we begin to sense that natural love which we have for others and for God.

Arseth

 4th  Nov/7th Tishrei

Moshe ben Yaakov (flinter)

5th Nov/ 8th Tishrei

Farha bat Aziza

6th Nov/ 9th Tishrei

Eliyahu Sion Daniel (Ben Rosa)

8 Nov/11 Tishrei

Shimhon Baruch Ezra  Shimhon

Yaakov ben Shelomo Zehda

Katie Menahem

10 Nov/13 Tishrei

Flora Penhas

Menahem Yahya Cohen

Mozelle bat Habiba Cohen

Today in Jewish history...

          [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 shulwas 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]

Rambamreached 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.

           [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. First census in Israel counts 712,000 Jews, 1948.

          [7 MarCheshvan]   10,000 Jews of Kovno ghetto taken for execution, 1941. Jewish children under the age of 12 were taken from the Shavl, Lithuania and executed, 1943.

 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