THE JEWISH WELFARE BOARD

Upcoming events

· The new JLI course on Jewish Business Ethics, entitled “Money Matters” will be starting on Monday the 23rd of January. Money Matters will present Judaism’s approach to practical economic  dilemmas and monetary quandaries that we face daily in both our   personal and professional lives. To register and for more info, visit the website at www.myjli.com

· The Hatima , in memory of the late Aziza bat Farha o.b.m. will take place on Monday 16 January  between the afternoon and evening services at the JBC, 5^th floor

Come join us for a Community Shabbaton in honor of Tet Vav B'shvat, which will take place on Friday night, 3rd of Febuary, after the services. Family $50 (with  children under 12 years),  adult $25, children above 12 years  $10, students $15 and  nannies $10. Please RSVP to http://singaporejews.com/rsvp.html

Parasha in a Nutshell

Shemot ,Exodus 1:1 - 6:1

The Children of Israel multiply in Egypt. Threatened by their growing numbers, Pharaoh enslaves them and orders the Hebrew midwives, Shifrah and Puah, to kill all male babies at birth. When they do not comply, he commands his people to cast the Hebrew babies into the Nile.

A child is born to Jocheved, the daughter of Levi, and her husband, Amram, and placed in a basket on the river, while the baby's sister, Miriam, stands watch from afar. Pharaoh's daughter discovers the boy, raises him as her son, and names him Moses.

As a young man, Moses leaves the palace and discovers the hardship of his brethren. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew and kills the Egyptian. The next day he sees two Jews fighting; when he admonishes them, they reveal his deed of the previous day, and Moses is forced to flee to Midian. There he rescues Jethro's daughters, marries one of them - Zipporah - and becomes a shepherd of his father-in-law's flocks.

G-d appears to Moses in a burning bush at the foot of Mount Sinai and instructs him to go to Pharaoh and demand: "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me." Moses' brother, Aaron, is appointed to serve as his spokesman. In Egypt, Moses and Aaron assemble the elders of Israel to tell them that the time of their redemption has come. The people believe; but Pharaoh refuses to let them go, and even intensifies the suffering of Israel.

Moses returns to G-d to protest: "Why have You done evil to this people?" G-d promises that the redemption is close at hand.

Weekly Shabbat lunch sponsor

This week’s Shabbat lunch is sponsored partially by:

Liat & Eli Hakam in honor of Joseph's successful completion of five semesters at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

and  

Bruce & Rivka Goldstein in memory of Bruce’s late father Aviya ben Schlomoo.b.m. whose yahrzeit will be commemorated on Friday 20 January 2012.

The Seuda Shelishit is sponsored partially by: Joseph and Ida Benjamin in memory of Ida’s late mother Aziza bat Farha  o.b.m. whose yahrzeit will be commemorated on Monday 16 January 2012.

and

The Klein family

לעילוי נשמת ר‘ שמואל ב“ר יעקב יצחק ז“ל

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

 I Shall be

In this week's Torah reading, Moses makes his dramatic appearance on the Biblical scene. He tries to stop the persecution of his brethren, receives a death sentence for his troubles, and is forced to flee to Midian where he marries Zipporah and tends the flocks of his father-in-law, Jethro. Then, at the burning bush, comes his first divine revelation.

G-d calls upon the shepherd to go back to Egypt and redeem his people. The mission is nothing less than to face up to the Pharaoh himself and deliver the L-rd's famous stirring message: Let My People Go!

In characteristic humility, Moses is a most reluctant leader. He seems to be looking for all sorts of reasons as to why he is unworthy of the task. At one point, he asks the Almighty, "Who shall I say sent me? What is Your name?"

Now we are familiar with many names that G-d goes by, but the one G-d now gives Moses is puzzling and enigmatic, mysterious and mystical "I shall be as I shall be." Strange name for a Supreme Being.

Many commentaries expound on the possible interpretations of this most

unusual name. Here is one very powerful explanation.

The significance of this name is that it is posed in the future tense. "I shall be as I shall be." Moses was asking the ultimate existential question. How do I call You, G-d? "What is Your name," means how are You to be identified, known, understood? How can finite, mortal man come to know the Infinite Being?

And G-d's answer is, "I shall be as I shall be" -- future tense. You want to know me, Moses? I'm afraid you'll have to wait. We cannot necessarily understand G-d by what has happened in the past. Nor, even, in the present. In the here and now, when we stare life and its ambiguities in the face, we experience tremendous difficulty in our vain attempts to grasp the Almighty's vision or perceive His vast eternal plan.

To truly understand the Infinite G-d takes infinite patience. One day, somewhere down the line, in the future, He will make Himself known to us. Only then will we come to really know Him and His inscrutable ways. "I shall be as I shall be."

Don't we all ask Moses' question at times? Why is there tragedy in the world? Why is there so much human suffering, pain and agony, so much tzorris to contend with? How many families have been torn apart literally and figuratively in Israel in the four year Intifada? How many individuals do we each know in our own communities who have experienced tragedy in their lives? Why, we cry, why?

So we are told that right at the very beginning of Jewish history, the very first time G-d spoke to Moses He said to him up front, "I know you want to be able to understand Me and My ways; but please accept that it is impossible -- for now." I shall be as I shall be. One day, you will be able to know Me. Not today or tomorrow, but one day in the future everything will make sense and everything will be understood. Ultimately, in time, all will be known.

In the meanwhile, we live with faith, trust, hope, and a great deal of patience as we see destiny unfolding and we aren't quite sure what to make of it. And we look forward with eager anticipation to that awesome day when the Almighty's great name will be known and understood, and we will see with our own eyes of flesh that G-d is good and His ways are just. May it be speedily in our day.

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

Fringes - Tzitzit

If a man puts on a garment having four corners during the day he is commanded to put fringes (tzitzit) in its corners, as it says "And they shall make themselves fringes on the edges of their garments" [and it says "You shall make tassels on the four edges of the garment with which you cover yourself"]. A righteous man should endeavor to wear a garment that requires fringes, especially during prayers, since the Torah makes all the commandments depend on the commandment about the fringes, as it says "And you shall see it and remember all the commandments of Ha-Shem".The garment must be made primarily of cloth; if it is of any material other than wool or linen the commandment is only rabbinical. The fringes may be of wool, of linen, or of the same material as the garment; but one should not use wool in a linen garment or vice versa because it is forbidden to wear mixtures of wool and linen. Each fringe is made of four threads and is passed through a point between one and three thumb-breadths away from the corner of the garment so that the eight ends of the threads hang evenly from the corner and are at least four thumb-breadths long; one of the threads is wound around the others and  

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

 Fortunate are we that our youth has not caused us embarrassment in later life (Succah 53a).

Many people gain wisdom in their later years. When they look back on their youth, they regret having squandered so much time. Some people's "golden years" are unfortunately marred with regret over the time they lost.

Young people can learn from their elders. People who reflect on the past during their last days often say, "My greatest regret is that I did not spend more time with my family." Has anyone ever said, "My greatest regret is that I did not spend more time at the office"?

While experience teaches most efficiently, some things are simply too costly to be learned by experience, because the opportunity to apply these lessons may never arise. Our learning too late that we have spent time foolishly is a prime example.

Ask your father and he will tell you; your elders and they will say it to you (Deuteronomy 32:7). In his last words, Moses gives us this most important teaching: "Why learn the hard way when you can benefit from the experience of others who have been there?" We should regularly ask: "How pleased will I be in the future about what I am doing now?"

Arseth

 21 Tevet/16 January

Aziza bat Farha

23 Tevet/18 January

Regina bat Rivka

Today in Jewish history...

 17 Tevet

-The yahrzeit of the Dubno Maggid, 1804. 

20 Tevet

-Yahrzeit of the Rambam (Maimonides) in 1204.

23 Tevet

-Yahrzeit of Nathan Straus, for whom the city of Netanya and the Israel Center's street are both named, 1931.

24 Tevet

-Purim of Sherif celebrated by the Jews of Tripoli, from 1745.

-Yahrzeit of Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Lyady, the Baal HaTanya, founder of Chabad Chassidism, 1812.

25 Tevet

-Anti-Jewish riots in different parts of Austria, 1312.

-First critical edition of Chovot HaLevavot (otherwise known as “Duties of the Heart and authored by Rabbi Bachya Ibn Paquda ZT”L -circa 11^thCentury) was first published in Italy, 1559.

 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

Ask The Rabbi

Question:

What is the reason behind the Jewish custom of burying a person almost immediately after he or she passes away? Other religions wait a few days, or sometimes weeks, before laying their dead to rest, yet we seem in a hurry to get them buried, often within 24 hours of death. What is the rush?

Answer:

A speedy burial has benefits for the living and for the dead, while delaying a funeral unnecessarily is no good for either.

Between death and burial, the soul of the departed is in limbo between two worlds, neither fully on earth nor ready to be admitted into heaven. The soul no longer inhabits the body after death, but until the body is laid to rest, the soul cannot fully leave the body either. So it hovers around the body, in a state of disorientation at its sudden expulsion from the body that was its home for a lifetime.

Once the body returns to the dust from whence it came, the soul can return to the heaven from whence it came. And so, only after the burial does the soul begin its climb to higher realms. The soul’s onward journey can’t begin until the body is interred. We do not want to delay this process, so we hasten the funeral to the earliest opportunity.

This pain cannot be avoided. Only after we have allowed ourselves to grieve can we allow ourselves to heal. Only when the finality of the body’s death is accepted can the eternality of the soul be experienced. The body returns to dust, the soul returns to G‑d.

 Recipe Of The Week

Apple Crumble Murielle

Ingredients

• 4 Full Green Apples (Peeled and sliced)
• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 Tbsp Corn starch
• 2 Tbsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 Drop Salt
• 1 Stick Margarine
• 1 Cup Flour
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar

1. Mix all 4 first ingredients and pour into baking pie crust Melt margarine with the pinch of salt add 1 cup flour, the brown sugar and form crumble and sprinkle on top of pie, bake in preheated oven at 350for 30 min.

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