Achim Newsletter / Parshas Shmini / Picnic update

A Parsha thought

With Pesach behind us we leave Egypt and begin our 46 day trek to Mount Sinai. When HaShem initially selected Moshe to lead the people out of Egypt, He told Moshe that the goal of this exodus was to bring the people to Mount Sinai to accept the Torah and to become the People of the Torah. From the very outset of our being chosen to be His people was with the understanding that we would accept His Torah to be ours. The holiday commemorating our acquisition of Torah is the holiday of Shavuous. Thus, the days between Pesach and Shavuous are days in which we prepare ourselves for that acquisition. In this week's Parsha, Shmini, the Torah gives us instructions on how we need to prepare ourselves. However, before we discuss how we prepare ourselves it is important that we understand why we need to prepare ourselves.

Let us focus on the significance of our acquisition of Torah and from there we can advance to appreciate why we need to prepare ourselves so that we can finally learn to lessons of our Parsha and in fact, prepare ourselves for the coming holiday of Shavuous.

We will begin with a very basic principle that we mentioned in an earlier Parsha thought. The Jewish people are distinct from other nations in their association with their law. Every nation in the world creates or adopts their own set of laws by which society operates. These laws are there to serve the needs of that nation. For this reason, as the needs of the nation changes the laws must be changed as well. If the laws are not having their intended result the laws must be changed again; the law is there to serve the nation - the nation comes first. The Jewish people however, have a reversed relationship with their law, the Torah. We, the Jewish people were created to serve the Torah. The Torah was created by HaShem as the system by which His world achieves perfection. In order to expose His world to His Torah He created a people that would travel through the world, geographically as well as through the world, historically and wherever they would go they would carry with them the Torah. Therefore, no matter what changes Man undergoes, be they philosophical, be they political, be they economic, no matter what - the Jew cannot change; he must continue carrying on the Torah of HaShem to the next station. We have a mission and must never veer from that mission. The moment we shift from that mission, we lose our reason of existence and we become fodder for the nations who seek to devour us.

The significance of our accepting the Torah is that it gives us reason for existence and insures our existence to the end of time.

One more word regarding Torah; Torah is the expressed will of HaShem. In it He instructs us how to live our lives, He teaches us what the purpose of creation is, He establishes for us the guidelines of what is right and wrong. The Torah gives her adherents the secrets of how to live their lives on higher planes than the base physical level.

Having said that, we can recognize that there is intense sanctity and holiness in the Torah. The Torah is Man's medium to connect to HaShem. There is no greater transcendental vehicle than the Torah. If we are to be the designated carriers of the Torah it is essential that we be well prepared to do so. Now we can ask how we prepare ourselves.

In understanding what preparations are needed it is critical that we understand the needs of the Torah. So for example; we know that the Torah requires a highly sensitive spiritual perception. A coarse person who has a low emotional and spiritual perception would not be able to relate to the Torah. To such a person the Torah is nothing more that a jumble of words that make very little sense.

This reminds me of a story that occurred in Baltimore 40 years ago. Baltimore was blessed to have been home to a great Torah scholar whose genius is Torah scholarship covered the entire Talmud and all areas of Jewish law. This giant was Rabbi Ruderman. He authored a masterpiece of collected Torah discourses that exposed his genius to anyone who was both familiar with the subject matter and intellectually capable of grasping the relevant concepts. One day, a wealthy businessman came to Baltimore and wanted to meet the world famous Rabbi Ruderman. Although he was a fine upstanding Jew and a philanthropist as well, he nevertheless, was neither well versed in Torah nor did he have the capability to grasp those relevant concepts. Upon meeting Rabbi Ruderman he asked to see the book that the great rabbi authored. When Rabbi Ruderman handed him the book he quickly leafed through the book and look unimpressed at the size of the book. Noticing the businessman's disappointment, Rabbi Ruderman told him that this book's value is not evaluated by the weight of its pages but by the contents of its words.

The story is comical to anyone who appreciates that intellectual greatness is not subject to physical measures. The same is certainly true to spiritual greatness. The key to acquiring the Torah is that we do not limit our understanding to physical limitations. If the Torah is the vehicle dedicated to transcending the physical then those who carry the Torah must also be able to transcend the physical.

In this week's Parsha the Torah instructs us on which animals we may eat and which we may not eat. Of the land animals we may only eat those that have split hooves and chew their cud. Hence, a swine is not kosher since although it has split hooves it does not chew its cud. Of the marine animals we may eat only those that have fins and scales. Hence, shellfish and other seafood that do not these signs are not kosher. The Torah then goes through the bird kingdom to establish which are kosher and which are not. After the Torah classifies those that worthy to be eaten and those that are not, it states "You shall not eat them... do not contaminate yourselves through them... For I am HaShem your G.D. You are to sanctify yourselves and you shall become holy... for I am HaShem Who elevates you from the land of Egypt to be a G.D unto you..." When the Torah refers to contamination it is understood that it means a contamination of the soul, a spiritual contamination.

Just as certain drugs deaden the user's physical perceptions, these foods deaden the consumer's spiritual perceptions. A prerequisite to accepting the Torah is to maintain a heightened level of spiritual sensitivity. The Torah identifies for us which members of the animal kingdom desensitize us to our spiritual awareness.

How fortunate we are to have been given the mission to carry this Book of wisdom to the world and how fortunate we are to have been given the secrets of how to maintain a soul with a higher capacity than our physical life would yield.

Have a wonderful Shabbos.

Paysach Diskind

Lag b'Omer Picnic

The Picnic is closer than farther

Russian soccer

Date: Sunday, May 2

Time: 12:00 noon - 4:30 pm

Location: Gunpowder Falls State Park

7200 Graces Quarters, Chase, MD 21027

Hammer Shelter / Dogwood #2

What: Lag b'Omer Picnic / Football
Hot dogs, Hamburgers, salad, drinks, i takdali

Cost: $10 per person / $25 per family

Who: YOU, of course, and that Jewish friend you wanted to introduce to Achim.

Directions: From I-95 take exit 67A for Route 43 east (White Marsh Boulevard). Follow 43 to route 40 east. After turning onto Route 40, turn right at the first light onto Ebenezer Road and follow it for 4.5 miles. The park entrance will be on your left.

Mom's Workshop

The workshop is hard at work.

Last week we worked on Pesach preparations. Our next shop will be meeting after the holiday.

Date: Monday evening, April 12

Time: 8:45 - 9:45 pm

Location: the Mikeladze home (6807 Park Heights Ave. apt. 3I)
For more information call Leah Mikeladze at 410.358.1450

If you have any questions call me at 443.286.9338 or paysach@achim.org.

Хасидская притча

Слепой евреи каждое утро приходил ко входу в дом, в котором жил раби Шая из Праги.

Он продавал пирожки и зарабатывал на жизнь своей семье. Не проходило и дня, чтобы полицейский-антисемит не обидел его: то корзину перевернет, то отберет выручку. Однажды раби Шая увидел это и назавтра пораньше купил у слепого всю корзину. Так делал он и потом изо дня в день.

- К чему эти хлопоты ? - спросили ученики у раби.- Те деньги, которые ты даешь ему поденно, можно давать одной суммой раз в месяц.

- У него отнят свет очей, неужели отберем у него и последнюю радость: уверенность в том, что он честно зарабатывает на жизнь себе и своим детям?!

Gemara Class

Weekly class in Russian language

The Talmud is the exposition and clarification of the Oral Torah. Talmud and Gemara are interchangeable terms for this work. So much of classic Jewish literature is built on the teachings of the Talmud. Children 13 years old as well 80-year rabbis study this ancient text. It engages the mind and activates the thinking process in a very deep way.

Monday evenings from 8:00 - 9:00 Dr. Michael Keidar gives a class on Gemara (Talmud) in Russian. This class is designed to accommodate people with limited background in Torah study.

Dr. Keidar gives the class at the Baltimore Community Kollel (3800 Labyrinth Road 21215)

If you are interested in participating or have questions contact Dr. Keidar at keidar@gwu.edu.

Parsha Class

Weekly Class in Russian Language

The Torah carries within it many messages. Every Shabbos is assigned its own special portion that is read in the synagogue. This weekly portion is called the Parsha. The lessons and insights that are packed with the Parsha are timeless as they are profound.

Tuesday evenings 8:00 - 9:00 Dr. Michael Keidar presents insights on the weekly Parsha in the Russian language. Participation does not require any background in Jewish education.

Dr. Keidar gives the class at the Baltimore Community Kollel (3800 Labyrinth Road 21215)

If you are interested in participating or have questions contact Dr. Keidar at keidar@gwu.edu.

Sunday morning @ Milbrook

Shachris service

Every Sunday morning we have a morning prayer service followed by tasty donuts with coffee and lively discussions with insights on the weekly Parsha dealing with relevant applications.

People who need to recite kaddish but are embarrassed to do so will feel comfortable at our service. We provide help and support in reciting kaddish in a friendly atmosphere.

Sunday morning schedule
Service 8:00 - 9:00
For kaddish be there no later than 8:45
Donuts, coffee and discussion 9:00 - 9:45
Everyone is welcome

wafting coffee
Special prayers are recited by the minyan for sick members of the community. If you have someone you wish to be mentioned contact me at paysach@achim.org .

Piano anyone?

I received a call to know if I know anyone who is interested in a piano. They have no interest in charging any money.

If you or someone you know is interested in taking this piano contact Mrs. Shira Bronfin at 410.358.3424.

Mazel Tov!

Baby boy to the Zarkhins

Kehillas Achim takes much pleasure in announcing the birth of a baby boy to Menachem and Bina Zarkhin.

May they merit to raise this little boy to learn Torah, to teach Torah and to be a source of nachas to their families and to all of the Jewish people.

The Zarkhins will be celebrating the shalom zakhor tonight at their home 32 Richard St.Passaic, NJ

Hebrew Literacy Level II

This class ran its six sessions and is currently not running.

If you are interested in creating a new class please contact me at 443.286.9338 or paysach@achim.org

Weekly Women's Class

Continuing professional education

Challah

The Jewish woman has many responsibilities, each of which is critical to their family and to their people as whole. We can define the position of Jewish womanhood as requiring a degree in culinary arts, psychology, clinical social work, business management, human resources and education. In addition to this list, a comprehensive background in Jewish law comes in handy.

As with every profession, Jewish womanhood requires Continuing Professional Education. Achim is very fortunate to have Mrs. Tamar Englander who is an outstanding member of this elite class of Jewish Women. Tamar conducts a weekly class that provides motivational and educational approaches to practical Jewish womanhood. A sampling of the areas that are covered in her classes include perspectives on Shabbat, dealing with the challenges of stress that find themselves in life, cooking with a touch of spirituality, child rearing, marital relationships and many more.

Every Wednesday evening from 8:30 - 9:30 Tamar conducts this class at her home, 6307 Wirt Avenue 21215. All women are invited to participate in this group.

Please contact paysach@achim.org if you wish to join.

Mesilas Yeshorim / Path of the Just

We have concluded the second chapter and hope to begin the third chapter at our next meeting.

This class meets Wednesday's twice a month.

Our next session:

Date:Wednesday evening,

April 21.

Time: 8:00 - 9:00

Location: Home of Alla and Joseph Kovalerchik (101 Clarendon Road 21208)

If you wish to join contact me at

paysach@achim.org.

Our deepest sympathy

With much regret we announce the passing of Ella Shatz the dear sister of Zina Fox. Ella passed away Wednesday night at the age of 44. Ella was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1986. At that time the doctors said that she had no more than 6 months to live.

May she be an inspiration to us all that we should never give up.

May HaShem grant Zina and her family the much needed comfort and strength to continue being strong.

Employment Opportunities?

Do you know of any opportunities that perhaps someone in our group might benefit? Or perhaps you are looking for an opportunity and you wish to include other people in your search. Please contact me at paysach@achim.org.

We will be posting such opportunities on our website at Employment Opportunities