welcome to the dat minyan! lighting shabbat vayishlach · · 2017-12-03welcome to the dat minyan!...

Welcome to the DAT Minyan! Shabbat Vayishlach

December 2, 2017 - 14 Kislev 5778 Joseph Friedman, Rabbi | David Fishman, President

Candle Lighting

Havdalah

4:17pm 5:20pm

Shabbat Schedule

Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during the

service.

FRIDAY

4:20 pm: Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv,

(Shema should be recited after 5:20 pm)

SHABBAT

Parasha: 70 / Haftarah: Page 1141

7:30 am: Hashkama Minyan

Tefillah Warm-up with Ellyn Hutt will not meet this Shabbat

8:30 am: Daf Yomi

9:00 am: Shacharit

Kiddush this Shabbat is sponsored by Jewish Colorado

2:50 pm: HS Boys’ Gemara w/ Nathan Rabinovitch at the Rabinovitch home

4:05 pm: Mincha, followed by Seudah Shlisheet

Seudah Shlisheet is sponsored by the shul

5:20 pm: Maariv / Havdalah

6:05 pm: Mish Mosh

——————————————————

Weekday Schedule

SHACHARIT

Sunday: 8:00 am

Monday — Friday: 6:35 am

MINCHA/MAARIV

Sunday — Thursday: 4:20 pm

Friday: 4:15 pm

DAT Minyan is a dynamic and friendly Modern Orthodox synagogue for all ages and dedicated to meaningful personal spiritual development, community growth, youth involvement, Torah education, and Religious Zionism.

DAT Minyan - 6825 E. Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80224 - 720-941-0479 - www.datminyan.org

D’var Torah with Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

There are Mozarts and there are Beethovens. Which are you?

I have only the most amateur knowledge of music, but the impression one gets about Mozart is that, from him, music flowed. There is something effortless and effervescent about his compositions. They are not “sicklied o’er by the pale cast of thought.” He wrote at speed. He carried the worries of the world lightly.

Not so Beethoven, for whom it sometimes took years for an idea to crystallise into its final form, with countless drafts and revisions and crossings-out. This was a man who could be angry with himself and with the world, for whom creativity was a struggle from which he emerged triumphant with work that is rarely less than strenuous and full of conflict until its final majestic resolution. The ethereal, mystical, almost other-worldly quality of his last compositions, the sublime late piano sonatas and string quartets, are the creation of one who has finally found peace after a life of wrestling with his own angels and demons.

All of this is, for me, a way of coming to understand Jacob, the man who became Israel, our father in faith. Jacob is not the most obvious choice of religious hero. He does not appear – at least on the surface of the biblical text – as a man with Abraham’s courage or kindness, Isaac’s faithfulness and self-restraint, Moses’ vigour and passion, David’s politics and poetry, or Isaiah’s lyricism and hope.

He was a man surrounded by conflict: with his brother Esau, his father-in-law Laban, his wives, Leah and Rachel, and his children, whose sibling rivalry eventually brought the whole family into exile in Egypt. His life seems to have been a field of tensions.

Then there were his transactions: the way he purchased Esau’s birthright, took his blessing, and eventually outwitted his wily father-in-law Laban. In each case he seems to have won, but then his situation deteriorates. The episode in which, at Rebekah’s request, he dressed up as Esau and deceived his blind father, forced him to leave home and – as we see in this week’s parsha – left him traumatised with fear at the prospect of meeting Esau again. Almost the same deception he practised on Isaac, he suffered at the hand of Laban. Even his escape from Laban might have ended in tragedy, had God not warned him not to harm Jacob (Hence the passage in the Haggada: “Go and learn what Laban the Aramean sought to do to our father Jacob”). His life as portrayed in the Torah seems to be a constant series of escapes from one trouble to the next.

So who and what was Jacob?

To this there are two radically different answers. There is the Jacob of midrash who even in the womb longed for a synagogue, [1] who spent his years as a young man studying in the bet midrash, [2] who looked like Abraham [3] and whose arms were like pillars of marble. [4] His motives were always pure. He bought Esau’s birthright because he could not bear to see Esau offering sacrifices (the privilege of the firstborn) to idols. [5] As for his father’s blessing, the very reason Isaac became blind in old age was so that this could be possible. [6] Esau was the opposite, a violent and mercurial character who had deceived his father into thinking he was ultra-pious, [7] but who had –

(Continued on page 4)

Learning Opportunities @ the DAT Minyan

• Kitzur Shulchan Aruch: Daily, after Shacharit

• Daf Yomi Shiur: Sun—Fri after Shacharit for 30 minutes and 8:30 am on Shabbat

• Mishnayot: Daily, between Mincha and Maariv

• Wednesday Evening Class: 7:30 pm

(Continued on Page 4)

DAT MINYAN NEWS, EVENTS AND LEARNING

Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during the service.

Welcome to Marsha Hurwitz, Interim President and CEO, Board Chair Diana Anderson and all of our guests from Jewish Colorado, and thank you so much for sponsoring today’s kiddush!

Baruch Dayan Emet to Ariella Sunshine on the loss of her grandmother, Lily Hyde, this week in Israel. May her memory be for a blessing.

Mazal Tov to Charles and Andrea Goldstein on the birth of a son last week.

Mazal Tov to Aryeh and Jill Landowne on the birth of their daughter this week.

Mazal Tov to Larry and Cindy Halpern and Morey and Joni Troy who were among the honorees at this week’s 51st Annual Dinner of Yeshiva Toras Chaim.

Our Social Committee, under the new leadership of Jay and Melanie Schoenberger, has put together a full calendar of events for the New Year! Plan to be with us for our Third Annual Trivia Night Latke Supper, Saturday, December 16th, 7:30 pm, at The Jewish Experience. Register online at https://www.datminyan.org/form/trivianight and see the attached flyer for more details. And, Sunday evening, March 11th is our Annual Event. More details coming soon!

AIPAC 2018 takes place in Washington, D.C. March 4th through 6th. The DAT Minyan has a block of 20 reserved spots at the AIPAC discounted rate of $399.00 per person and we are now accepting registrations. To register online, please go to https://www.datminyan.org/form/aipac2018 , or contact the shul office for additional information.

2017 is rapidly coming to an end, and your opportunities for claiming charitable deductions on your 2017 Income Tax are down to a final few weeks. As a personal benefit to you and to the congregation, please make every effort to close out any remaining balances on your DAT Minyan account. Thank you for your ongoing support throughout the year!

Minutes from our last Board of Directors’ Meeting can be accessed online at: https://images.shulcloud.com/395/uploads/Documents/BoardMinutes/Board-Mtg-Minutes-11-14-17.pdf

Please check the lost and found every month to see if any of your lost belongings are there. It is located right near the main entrance doors. The school donates all remaining items at the end of each month.

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS It’s the hilarious and uplifting story of a successful Hollywood screen writer discovering the world of Torah. Come hear

the story of David Weiss, the writer of Smurfs, Rugrats, Shrek 2 and more! Motzaei Shabbos, December 2nd at Bais Menachem, 7:30pm. www.chabadcolorado.com/weiss

Jewish Women's Circle presents the feminine side of Chanukah - this Sunday, December 3rd at Bais Menachem, 7:30pm. Learn the art of herbal oil bottling and blending and of course enjoy delicious treats! Couvert $18. RSVP to 720-838-4093.

PORAT is proud to host Jacob Sztokman, high-tech executive turned non-profit entrepreneur. Mr. Sztokman will speak about his Project Gabriel Mumbai, which feeds, educates and provides health care for over 1,500 children in the slums of Mumbai, before mincha on Shabbat 12/9 at 3:40 pm followed by a complete presentation of his inspiring experience at the home of Chaim and Bara Loewenthal Saturday night 12/9 at 7:00 pm.

Join in the fun at the Hillel Academy PTA 2017 Chinese Auction, on Sunday, Dec. 10, at EDOS! Doors open @5:30, followed by a catered dinner @6:30, with emcee Rabbi Serebryanski. It will be non-stop laughs and fun, and an auction drawing of almost 50 prizes @7:30. Great odds of winning & tons of door prizes. If you can't attend, you can still buy tickets and win (prices starting at only $5) at www.hillelauction.com!

Come join R’ Chaim Sher and discover the power we all have! Join us every other Tuesday evening, to explore the Brachos of Shmonah Esrei. This four part shiur will take place Tuesdays, December 5th & 19th, and January 2nd, at Merkaz, from 8:15 – 9:00 pm. Shiurim are open to men and women.

Chabad of Colroado presents Chanaukah Night at the Children's Museum, Thursday, December 14th, 5-8pm! Exclusively for us! Special Chanukah activities and refreshments. Special rate this coming Monday (11/27) only $10 per person. See website for details. www.chabadcolorado.com/museum

BMH-BJ Congregation invites the community to their “Jazz, Jews and Booze” Chanukah party, Tuesday night, December 19th at 6:30 pm at BMH-BJ. Enjoy a night out with a live jazz band, special Chanukah cocktails, and your favorite holiday foods! Tickets are $36. Must be 21+ to attend the event. Childcare is free and will be provided at BMH-BJ. Drop your kids off, enjoy the evening, and pick them up before you head home! Register on line through the calendar date (December 19) on the BMH-BJ website.

The Denver Academy of Torah High School Senior class is running a Toveling fundraiser. Save time and let us tovel your dishes for you. Contact the senior class at [email protected] for more information or to coordinate pickup and dropoff times and locations. Price: $10 + generally $1 per item. All proceeds go to the senior class trip.

The Denver Academy of Torah High School Senior Class is selling a take-out Italian Dinner on Sunday, December 3rd. The meal will include a vegetarian or meat pasta dish, garlic bread, minestrone soup, salad, and italian ices. Cost is $12 for 1 meal, $44 for 4 meals with home delivery available for an extra $10. Pickup between 4-6 pm at EDOS. All proceeds go to the senior class trip. To place an order, contact the seniors at [email protected] .

It’s an evening of artistic inspiration as the Denver Academy of Torah, together with the PTO and the Teacher Institute for the Arts present visiting Jerusalem-based artist David Moss, Tuesday, January 16th, 7 to 9:00 pm at DAT. The artist will present original artwork and discuss his unique approach. DAT faculty will share exciting student projects in the new “Explore Tefilla” program taking place in the high school. Parents and adults only. RSVP to [email protected] .

DAT MINYAN MEMBER MILESTONES


The DAT Minyan wishes to acknowledge the following milestones* of our members in the coming week:

*These details were obtained from the DAT Minyan database, which contains information provided by the members when they joined. We apologize for any omissions or mistakes. For corrections or additions, please log on to your account and update the information, or contact

the synagogue office at 720-941-0479.

Refuah Shelayma Please include the following names in your prayers. May each be granted a Refuah Shelayma. Names are kept on the list until the next Rosh Chodesh. Help us keep the list accurate by verifying the necessary details each month on the Cholim Document

at https://goo.gl/aeyJG2.

Baruch Getzel ha Cohen ben Esther

Chaim Shmuel ben Miriam

Doniel ben Chana

Eliyahu Chaim ha Cohen ben Sara Rifka

Eliyahu Dovid ben Ita Sheiva

Faige bat Sarah

Feigie bat Sarah

Ita Sheiva bas Udyah

Reuven Yehoshua ben Nechama

Yaakov Mordechai ben Chana

This Day In Jewish History - Dec 2 / 14 Kislev 1568 B.C.E. — Reuven is born in Paddan Aram, Mesopotamia, first son of Yaakov Avinu and Leah, and the first of the Twelve

Tribes of Israel. Though he was first-born, he eventually loses his leadership role, due to a reputation for impetuousness. His Yahrtzeit is also on this date 14 Kislev, 1413 B.C.E.

1830 — Nine months after Greece officially gains independence from Turkey and is declared a monarchy under the protection of the European powers, it grants citizenship to Jews. Greek Jews number around 30-thousand at this time.

1844 — Czar Nicholas I of Russia provides for the establishment of Jewish schools and seminaries, but in doing so, tries to aid the Haskalah (the Jewish Enlightenment movement) in its efforts to undermine Torah study and increase European secular studies.

1948 — The first plane of Operation Magic Carpet brings Yemenite Jews to Eretz Yisroel. In all, Israeli military transport planes fly some 380 flights to bring Jews from Yemen, most of whom are children, “home” to Israel as part of this mission. The entire operation is kept secret and news of it is only released to the media several months after its completion.

Eliana Fishman, Andrea Goldstein, Jacob Friedman, Ziva Horowitz, Bara Loewenthal, Noam Narrowe, Mimi Pomeranz, Roselle Rascoff, Jonathan Rones, Elizabeth Segall, Issy Toys

Moish Pomeranz — Thu., 12/7/17 (19 Kislev)

on the day he came in “tired” from the field – committed a whole series of crimes including murder. [8]This is an extreme portrayal, but not without scriptural basis. Jacob is called an ish tam, which conveys the sense of simplicity, integrity and single-mindedness. The plain sense of the oracle Rebekah received before the twins were born was that “the elder will serve the younger.” [9] She knew Jacob was the son destined to prevail. Besides which, as Maharatz Chajes says in his Introduction to the Aggadic Literature, [10] midrash paints biblical characters in moral black-and-white for obvious moral and educational reasons. It is difficult to teach children how to behave if all you have to offer is a series of studies in ambiguity, complexity and shades-of-grey.

The other Jacob, though, is the one we read in the plain sense of the text. The obvious question is: why did the Torah choose to portray the third of the patriarchs in this way? The Torah is highly selective in the details it chooses to relate. Why not paint Jacob in more attractive colours?

It seems to me that the Torah is delivering, here as elsewhere, an extraordinary message: that if we can truly relate to God as God, in His full transcendence and majesty, then we can relate to humans as humans in all their fallibility. In every other religious literature known to me, heroes are idealised until they no longer seem human at all. They are Divine or semi-Divine, perfect and infallible. There is no one like that in the whole of Tanakh. Even Noah (righteous, perfect) is seen drunk and dishevelled. Even Job (blameless, upright) eventually curses his fate. The man who, more than any other, epitomises fallibility is Jacob.

And perhaps that is the point. Jacob was a Beethoven, not a Mozart. His life was a series of struggles. Nothing came easily to him. He, alone of the patriarchs, was a man who chose to be chosen. Abraham was called by God. Isaac was chosen before his birth. Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah: these were all singled out by God for their mission. Not so Jacob. It was he who bought the birthright and took the blessing, he who chose to carry Abraham’s destiny into the future.

Not until he was running away from home did God appear to him. Not until years later, alone, at night, terrified at the prospect of meeting Esau, did God or an angel wrestle with him. He alone was given, by God or the angel, a completely new name, not an enhancement of his old one but a completely new identity: “Israel.” Even more strikingly, despite the fact that he was told “Your name shall no more be called Jacob,”[11] the Torah continues to call him Jacob, suggesting that his struggle was lifelong – as, often, is ours.

Were I to choose a soundtrack for the Jacob I have come to know, it would be Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonata or his Grosse Fugue, music of such overwhelming tension that it seems on the verge of bursting through all form and structure. Yet it was through these epic struggles that Beethoven eventually reached his own version of serenity, and it was through Jacob’s extended wrestling-match with destiny that he eventually achieved what neither Abraham nor Isaac accomplished: all his children stayed within the faith. “According to the pain is the reward,” said the sages.[12] That is Jacob.

There are saintly people for whom spirituality comes as easily as did music to Mozart. But God does not reach out only to saints. He reaches out to all of us. That is why He gave us Abraham for those who love, Isaac for those who fear, and Jacob/Israel for those who struggle.

Hence this week’s life-changing idea: if you find yourself struggling with faith, you are in the company of Jacob-who-became-Israel, the father-in-faith of us all.

Rabbi Sacks (Continued from page 1)

YOUTH ANNOUNCEMENTS

Welcome to the Denver NCSY and DAT Teen Minyan Shabbat 9:30 am

following the Hashkama Minyan in Room 111


Our thanks to Chaim and Bara Loewenthal for sponsoring this week’s ice cream kiddush for our teens!

MISH MOSH is back!

This Motzaei Shabbat, Dec 2nd at

6:05 PM (until 6:50)!

Prizes and Snacks for Everyone!

Don’t forget - if you’re there within the first five minutes, you get an extra prize ticket!

Join us for Shabbat Mishna Class

Geared for parent and child learning- 5th grade and up. Open to all who'd like to attend.

Where: DAT Kindergarten room.

When: Shabbat afternoon between Mincha and Maariv.

Details: We will explore how to dissect a Mishna and explore the text analytically. Ideal for pre-Gemarah prep. No previous back-

ground required. English and Hebrew text will be provided.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

KIDDUSH HELP ALWAYS NEEDED

Your participation in the kiddush process can make a

huge difference to the shul, at whatever level you can

volunteer. Here are the opportunities:

• Kiddush sponsorships

• Shopping for kiddush supplies

• Table setup

• Weekly event breakdown

Thanks for your support!


December 25 • Greater Denver/Boulder Area WINTER IS HERE: REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Join us in lending a hand to local hospitals, assisted living facilities,

shelters and other organizations this Christmas

REGISTER ONLINE AT

https://www.classy.org/event/christmas-mitzvah-project/e143949

THE DETAILS: We have launched a new registration sys-tem that works best in Google Chrome. If you are registering friends or family members in addition to yourself, you will need personal and contact information for each registrant. There are specific require-ments for each host site, including age min-imums and flu shots. If your site requires an orientation, you will receive details in early December. Day-of information, including site-specific details and parking information will be pro-vided by your Rosh Volunteer closer to Christmas Day. We are still recruiting host sites, so if you don’t see a site that interests you, please check back often for new opportunities!

We are partnering with Volunteers of America to serve

lunch on Sunday, January 7th, at the Mission, 2877

Lawrence St., Denver, CO 80205, from 11:15 am until

2:00 pm. We are hoping this will turn into a regular

opportunity for us to give back to our community in a

meaningful way, but for now, this is our only date. We

are looking for 10 volunteers. Please sign up at

https://www.datminyan.org/form/voavolunteer

CAN WE TALK?

It’s been just over a year now since we opened the DAT Minyan office, and it’s probably a good time to review some of the communication tools we’ve put in place to help us stay connected with you.

CONTACTING YOU

Our most effective way of informing the congregation of news and events is by email. If you have not been receiving emails from us (we usually send at least two per week), please check your ShulCloud profile through the DAT Minyan website and make sure we have your correct email address. And while you are there, please take a few moments to verify that other information in your profile (phone numbers, address, birthdates, anniversaries, yahrzeits) is also correct.

CONTACTING US

For anyone who is still wondering (or wandering), our offices are at BMH-BJ, 560 S. Monaco Pkwy., in the west wing of the complex on Center Ave and the office is closed on Monday. You can always call us and leave a message (messages are checked daily other than on Shabbat) at 720-941-0479, and our FAX number is 720-941-0729. Or, you can email us [email protected] , or for our Executive Director, Rob Allen, [email protected] .

CONTACTING RABBI FRIEDMAN

To reach Rabbi Friedman directly, the best method is his email, [email protected] . We would ask that you please DO NOT TEXT him, as texts are sometimes not seen and can easily be misplaced. If your need to reach Rabbi Friedman is URGENT, you can either call the office or call him on his cell phone.