Hertz p.325
Soncino p.500
Shabbat ends in London at 6.01pm
| Sidra Lite | |
| Sidra Insights | Rabbi Vivian Silverman |
| The Shabbat morning service | Rabbi Daniel Roselaar |
| Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Lunshits | Dr Michael Harris |
| 6th of Adar | Rabbi Yisroel Fine |
| White City-on-Sea - Bauhaus Tel Aviv | Simon Goulden |
| Riddle of the Week | Dr Lionel Kopelowitz & Rev Alan Greenbat |
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The offering - Teruma - which the children of Israel gave towards the building of the Mishkan included the precious metals, gold, silver and copper. From the Hebrew letters for each of these metals - Zahav, Kesef and N'choshet - was ingeniously deduced the kind of contributors among the people.
It was reckoned that the world fell into these three categories.
The Dubno Maggid - Rabbi Jacob Kranz (Lithuania late eighteenth century) reasoned that the Almighty desired these particular metals for the Mishkan because He knew that they were precious in the eyes of mankind. As a result, when someone offered what was precious to Him, he would be automatically demonstrating his love for the Almighty.
Gold was to be used in the adorning of the Aron Kodesh, which would eventually be placed in the most holy section of the Mishkan. The Ark would be constructed from acacia wood and overlaid with gold outside and inside. Why was gold to be on the inside, where no one could ever see it? The fourth century Babylonian sage, Rava, explained that it was to emphasise that a Torah scholar whose inner qualities did not mirror his outward appearance (Tocho K'varo) should not be regarded as a Talmid Chacham (Yoma 72b).
The Kli Yakar - Rabbi Ephraim Luntshitz (Poland late sixteenth century) (See below), writes in his Torah commentary that it is natural for a person to want to create a good outward appearance, so as to make a favourable impression in the eyes of others. However, a Torah scholar should be aware of the design of the Ark which was overlaid with gold both inside as well as out. Just as the Aron Kodesh was the repository for the Ten Commandments, so he is the expositor of Torah, and must always be above reproach, at home and in the street. The way he acts inside, where nobody apart from his family can see him, must mirror the image he gives to the outside world.
This principle was incorporated into our daily prayers. In the early part of the Shacharit service we read: at all times, a person should respect and revere G-d in private as well as in public (Baseiter Oovagalui).
And, like the Ark which was fashioned from wood and metal, so each person should live and flourish and be creative (like wood- Eitz Chaim) and be pure in his motives (like metal- Zahav Tahor).
The Talmud (Megillah 23a) indicates that Shabbat morning services should commence (and conclude) relatively early. However, it is not necessarily out of mere slothfulness that most congregations begin their services at a somewhat later hour. No less an authority that the Rama (281:1) codifies the view of the Mordechai that this practice is proper because, whereas the Torah says that the daily sacrifices should be offered up "in the morning," Bamidbar 28:4), the Shabbat sacrifices should be offered up "on the Shabbat day," (ibid. 28:9), which implies a later stage in the day. Nevertheless, the latest times by which the Shema and Amidah may properly be recited should obviously be taken into consideration when scheduling Shabbat services.
It is also pertinent to cite the opinion of the Aruch Hashulchan who would disapprove of services that commence at 9.00 am and do not end until almost midday. Based on comments of the Rambam who calls Shabbat lunch Seudat Shacharit (the morning meal) he reaches the conclusion that this meal must commence before halachic noon. This is not possible in the winter months if the service does not finish before 12.00 pm.
Several halachic sources endorse the custom to recite "v'yanuchu vo" in the main brachah of the Shabbat morning Amidah prayers, rather than "v'yanuchu vah" as in the Friday evening service, in order to relate to different aspects of Shabbat. However, grammatical siddurim such as Baer's Avodat Yisrael note that Shabbat is a feminine noun and as such the correct text should always be "v'yanuchu vah." If the Maariv, Shacharit or Mincha Amidot are inadvertently interchanged the prayer does not need to be repeated, but if any of these are said instead of the Musaf Amidah, or visa versa, the error must be corrected.
Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Lunshits
THE KELI YAKAR author
Rabbi Ephraim (the name Shlomo was added later, during an illness) was born in Poland in approximately 1550 and died in 1619 in Prague. He is well-known to students of Chumash as the author of Keli Yakar, a most popular Torah commentary very frequently cited in Divrei Torah down to our own day. Keli Yakar is primarily a homiletic commentary.
Rabbi Ephraim was a disciple of the famed Maharshal, Rabbi Shlomo Luria. He served as Rosh Yeshiva in Lemberg, and subsequently as Rabbi of Prague.
Besides Keli Yakar, Rabbi Ephraim penned several other classics in the field of homiletics.
He also composed special selichot for 2nd Adar to commemorate the persecution of the Jews of Prague during the pogroms of 1611.
6th Adar
The invention of the printing press by Gutenberg in 1455 transformed the world of Jewish learning, and enabled people of wealth to have personal libraries of great literary work for the first time in history.
But it was the appearance of the first printed edition of the complete Chumash with vowels, Rashi, and Targum Onkelos (an Aramaic translation) in Balognia on this day in 1482, that brought the study of Chumash and Rashi to Jewish homes throughout Europe.
The spread of the printed Jewish book softened the blow of the Spanish Expulsion in 1492 by providing the means for communities in exile to consult with the great leaders of earlier generations through their writings.
In 1520, Daniel Bomberg of Venice printed the first complete edition of the Talmud, sending a copy to Henry VIII as a gift.
Rabbinical leaders were highly enthusiastic about the new technology. The craft of printing was considered an Avodat Hakodesh - Holy Work, and the printing press was likened to an altar.
In the succeeding centuries, there were literally thousands of small Hebrew printing presses in Europe. This was due heavily to the Soncino family of Naples sponsoring a rich plethora of book printing. beginning in 1484.
From the burning of the Talmud at Ferrara in 1554 to the public burning of Jewish books in Nazi Germany, the Jewish book was always perceived as the key to Jewish survival.
In recent years, Artscroll Publishers have succeeded in bringing the world of Jewish literature to an increasingly wide audience.
From the earliest handwritten scrolls to today's computer type setting, the world of the Jewish book is as great and rich as the world of Judaism itself.
White City-on-Sea - Bauhaus Tel Aviv
Berlin in the 1920's was the powerhouse for a radical new movement in architecture. The driving force was a group of Jewish architects who worked at the 'Bauhaus' and it is this name which gave rise to the movement. During the 1920's and 1930's, as they wisely left Germany for what was then Palestine, Tel Aviv - literally overnight - adopted their style to define the character of the new "Jewish" city on the Mediterranean. By the mid-1930's it was the only city on earth being built entirely in the International Style - its simple concrete curves, boxy shapes, small windows set in large walls, glass-brick towers and sweeping terraces all washed with white. Viewed from the air, Tel Aviv appeared as a vision of startling white, hence the name, "White City." UNESCO, which once voted to equate Zionism with racism, recently designated the "White City" a World Heritage Site.
Almost every Bauhaus building in Tel Aviv is an architectural landmark - a delight for visitors, if sometimes a nightmare for owners. Sadly, many are in disrepair, but the municipality gives generous subsidies for restorations. Hundreds of "White City" buildings have been restored in recent years, many becoming flats, offices, private houses, restaurants and hotels. One of the loveliest restorations is that of the former Esther Cinema in Dizengoff Circle, reborn as the "boutique" Cinema Hotel, retaining its sweeping staircases, tall windows and curving walls, plus dozens of design details that recall its heritage.
Dizengoff Circle is at the junction of Dizengoff and Reines streets.
Last week's questions:
1. Explain: As from today, there is more carrying because ShPZH is commencing.
Answer:
Sh = Shekalim,Z = Zachor,P = Parah,H = Hachodesh
four special Shabbatot prior to Pesach, on which we take out an extra Sefer Torah, thus requiring more carrying.
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE set by Rabbi Meir Salasnik of Bushey.
Israel's President Moshe Katzav and Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger have the same name. How can this be (it is not their middle names)?
Answer:
"Butcher"
§ in Hebrew is "katzav" and
§ in German is "metzger"
This week's question:
1. set by Dr Lionel Kopelowitz of St John's Wood.
When do we pray a full service with an Amidah but with no Kaddish Titkabel (Whole Kaddish)?
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE set by Rev Alan Greenbat, Office of the Chief Rabbi.
In our prayers, when do we go forward by going backwards?
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