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The
Happy Minyan Schedule for This Shabbat
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Friday, 6/12
Plag HaMincha (early Candle lighting):
6:35 pm
Candle lighting:
7:47 pm
Mincha:
6:15 pm
and
7:45 pm
followed by
Kabballat Shabbat and Maariv
Saturday, 6/13
Shacharit:
9am - 12:00pm-ish
followed by Kiddush
Mincha:
7:25 pm
followed by
Seudah Shlishit and Maariv
Havdallah from:
8:49 pm
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Weekday Shiur on Likutei Moharan - presented by Reb Yedidyah Blanton
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Our own Reb Yedidyah Blanton teaches lessons from Likutei Moharan, the teachings of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov
Every Sunday night
8:00pm - 9:30pm
at Reb Shalom Yakov Mann's home:
1037 South Sherbourne Dr.
LA 90035 (between Olympic and Whitworth)
(There is no charge for this class!)
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Awesome Phone Shiur
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Listen to the deepest Torahs and stories from the teachings of
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach and Izshbitz, from the book "Lev HaShamayim" - given over by
Rabbi Nossen and Rebbetzin Channah Schafer in Boston
Live: 9 pm - 10:00 pm EST
Call (641) 715-3300
Conf code: 818022#.
Recorded: Listen anytime! Each class is recorded and available until the next shiur, which will replace it.
Playback Number: (641) 715-3412
Access Code: 818022#
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Always in Our Prayers
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Please daven for the immediate
safe return of
Gilad (ben Aviva) Shalit;
Zachary (ben Miriam) Baumel;
Tzvi (ben Penina) Feldman;
Yehuda (ben Sarah) Katz;
Ron (ben Batya) Arad
and
Guy (ben Rina) Hever
as well as for the safety and success
of all of Israel's soldiers,
and the immediate release of Yehonatan (ben Malka) Pollard.
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Happy Minyan Newsletter - Kol Sasson
Parshas Beha'aloscha |
June 2009 |
Greetings!
"Kol Chevra" is an organization that is dedicated to perpetuating the legacy of Shlomo Carlebach that annually publishes a compendium for Reb Shlomo's Yahrtzeit (16 Cheshvan) with memoirs and recollections on how Reb Shlomo influenced and inspired the lives of
the "Chevra"; memorial pages of those whose lives were motivated,
awakened and exalted by Reb Shlomo; announcements of life cycle events; insights, writings and recordings of original work of the "Chevra" who
are carrying on the legacy of Reb Shlomo by developing new commentary
and relevancy to his life and works.
So here's the latest from Kol Chevra:
Announcing the beginning of the new 15th Issue of Kol Chevra:
Moments, Tikun, and Vision
Dedicate your articles, we want to give our chevra honor!!
Please send memories and stories of Reb Shlomo, your Torahs, Reb Shlomo Torahs, poetry, Reb Shlomo photos...
Donations welcome for mazal tov announcements (with photos, especially babies!!!), condolences, ads, artwork.
Keep articles short, 2-3 pages, and please send them right away!!
Add a little blurb about yourself, so we all get connected!!
Don't hold back, give nachos to the Rebbe!!
Thank you,
Emuna
emunawitt14@yahoo.com
emuna.witt@rebshlomo.org
050-862-9040
This fabulous compendium is read by hundreds of Reb Shlomo "Chevra" all over the world - hope you pick one up in the fall, and even better, hope you are able to contribute to it as well.
Wishing One and All a Shabbat Shalom,
Rachel Espana
PS - Wishing one and all a good year, too. My son informs me this morning that the Apter Rebbe teaches that the verse in the Torah (Shemot 17:16) "when [God's] hand is on the throne of Hashem," - throne being spelled in Hebrew missing the alef at the end, and merely kaf-samech - is a hint to today, 20 (kaf) Sivan (first letter is a samech). It is meant to allude to the upcoming High Holidays, the throne being G-d's throne of Judgment. So the Apter Rebbe says the light of the coming year begins to shine now, and now is the time to start preparing. So... Shana Tova!
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Happy Minyan News & Upcoming Events
* Summer Schedule for Friday night!
We have two minyanim for Mincha / Kabbalat Shabbat at our regular davening location:
An early minyan will start at 6:00pm (sharp!) and, a later minyan (after candle-lighting) will start at 7:30pm. Early minyan'ers should please be sure to be on time so that the second minyan is not delayed.
* Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum is in Los Angeles:
Rabbi Avraham Greenbaum BRESLOV Rabbi & Director of AZAMRA www.AZAMRA.org Los Angeles - June 10-16 - Schedule
Wednesday - June 10 - 7:30 pm
The Anatomy of Hatred
- Insights from Kabbalah and Chassidus into the current waves of
anti-Semitism: The enmity of the serpent, the hatred of Esau, Likutey
Moharan 1:69
1532 S Durango, LA 90035 - $15 suggested donation
Thursday - June 11 - 7:30 pm
The Kabbalah of Music - Concert & Teaching with special guest - YUVAL RON (www.yuvalronmusic. com ) - Saban Theater (8440 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills)
$25 at the door/$20 Advance Purchase: 323.655.9900
SHABBAT - June 12-13 - Happy Minyan
· Friday
night dinner - Private dinner (Pico Robertson) - info, price, and address upon reservation - 310.741.8359
· Shabbat Services - with the Happy Minyan - 9am (9218 W Pico, LA 90035)
· Kiddush following davening. Mincha & Seuda Shlishit - 7:25pm (followed by Maariv)
Sunday - June 14
· Hisbodedus Nature Walk - Franklin Canyon - meet at Coffee Bean (9541 W Pico) 9:40am - leaving @ 10 am sharp!
· The Kabbalah of Money
- Lean times have forced many to make fundamental changes in attitudes
to money, livelihood, wealth and lack. We will explore Torah guidelines
based on Kabbalah and Chassidut about how to cultivate healthy
approaches to making a living, getting money matters in the proper
perspective and enjoying what we have. @ Jewish Learning Exchange - 512 N La Brea 7:45pm $18 at the door/$15 prepay: 323.857.0923
Mon - June 15 - 7:30 pm
Songs of Shabbat
- A piano recital of traditional chassidic Shabbos melodies with
commentary on their origins and how we can use them to enhance the
Shabbat experience and draw joy and energy into our daily lives. 134 S Formosa, LA 90036
$18 suggested donation
Tues - June 16 - 7:30 pm
The Master of the Field: Rabbi Nachman on Suffering - Likutey Moharan I:65 Class to be held outdoors. 1561 Roxbury, LA 90035 - $18 suggested donation
BOOKS will be AVAILABLE for purchase
RAV GREENBAUM is AVAILABLE for PRIVATE CONSULTATION
For MORE INFO - DIRECTIONS - RESERVATIONS:
Call - 310.741.8359
Visit Rav Greenbaum's website www.AZAMRA.org to see the amazing work he does.
Your support is a vital part of the success of Azamra!
* The Biala Rebbe, shlit"a, is in Los Angeles:
If you have never had the opportunity to meet with a real tzaddik, mekubal, chasidic Grand Rabbi to receive his blessings and advice - now is your chance! (And even if you have - this is still an opportunity you don't want to miss!) The BIala Rebbe is at once a great Rabbi and very warm and approachable. He also has a particular fondness for our minyan, and has really helped and guided many of us for several years.
To meet with the Biala Rebbe, shlit"a, privately or to find out more information of where the Rebbe will be, please call: 310-626-3107 or 318-503-9574.
(Also note the very special "tikkun" ceremony he will be performing at Ohel Moshe this Friday afternoon and next.)
 * 2 Benefit Concerts for Sharon Asher:
Talk about holy sisters! - Shulamit Rosner, and her sister, Liz Fuentes Rosner, sing in Ladino (the 15th century Jewish dialect of Spanish). After finding out about
our own Sharon Asher's (who should have an immediate refuah shlaimah!) difficult situation, and that she is paying for treatments out of
pocket, they immediately started putting together a benefit concert, which is now two!
If you would also like to perform OR to volunteer with set-up, refreshments or clean-up, please contact Shulamit at shuvishuvi@yahoo. com
There will be two venues:
Motzei Shabbat, 6/20, at Rabbi Parry's, Valley Village
and Sunday, 6/21, 3 PM at Louie Kemp's.
More details to follow.
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Parshas Beha'aloscha - the Holiness of Aharon HaKohen from Reb Shlomo
- Rav Sholom Brodt, Rosh Yeshiva of Simchas Shlomo
"
L'hagid Sh'vacho
Sh'lo Sheenah." -
"...To praise him (Aharon) for not altering (the service)."
In verse 2 at the opening of our parsha we
read, "AND AHARON DID JUST AS HASHEM HAD COMMANDED HIM." All the
commentators ask why is the Torah telling us this? Would anyone have thought
that he would do otherwise? Rashi explains that the Torah is commending Aharon
for doing everyday exactly as he was instructed to do, - "SH'LO
SHEENAH" - he did not make any changes. It seems like the question still
needs to be answered - why would you think that Aharon would make any changes
in the performance of this great mitzvah?
The Mei Hashiloach explains "SH'LO
SHEENAH" - that he did not make any changes, as follows. It is common
experience that in our practice of our daily mitzvot, we often lose some of our
excitement and joy in their performance. All too often we sink into an
autopilot mode, performing the mitzvot routinely without true excitement and
joy. We become "old" and we fall asleep. [The word 'sheenah' is thus
related to the word 'shainah' - sleep.] The greatness of Aharon was that each
day he would light the Menorah with the same joy and anticipation, as if he was
doing for the first time.
Reb Shlomo zt"l provides a very
dramatic explanation of "SH'LO SHEENAH." [L'ma'an Achai V'reyai p.56]
Aharon haKohen was an extraordinarily holy man. Most people imagine a holy
person as someone who keeps himself at a distance from the ordinary folk and
remains aloof from their day-to-day life, protecting him or herself from the
assumed ungodliness of the street.
The problem with such descriptions of
holy people is that we then see them as so beyond us that we can never imagine
ourselves as being holy. When I used to teach in high school and elementary
school, I had many opportunities to learn parshas Kedoshim [Va'yikra 19] with
my students. In that parsha we are commanded to be holy. I would ask my
students to close their eyes and visualize a holy person. After doing this,
they would open their eyes again and I would then ask them the following two
questions: 1] Was the holy person you 'saw', male or female? 2] What did they look
like and how were they dressed? As you may have imagined, most of the 'holy
people' were males and they [both the holyu males and females] were dressed
quite differently from us. Sadly, this illustrates that most of us have a
difficult time of perceiving ourselves as being connected to holiness, or ever
being holy ourselves.
But Aharon haKohen was not like that at
all. Reb Shlomo describes our first High Priest in a very different manner.
Aharon haKohen was indeed very holy, and at the same time very accessible.
Aharon haKohen was the first Kohen and
the first Kohen Gadol ever. All Kohanim until Moshiach is coming are his
descendants and their sanctity stems from him. One would imagine that he surely
spent all his time in the sanctuary, offering sacrifices, studying Torah,
praying and meditating. He was so holy that the entire Yom Kippur service was
done by him; he was the only one to enter into the Holy of Holies once a year
on Yom Kippur on behalf of the entire nation, and only he pronounced the
"Shem Hameforash," the unutterable Divine Name of G-d. All this is
true, yet at the same time he was able to be very close to his people - not
despite his holiness, but, because he was so holy!
What does it mean on a daily basis, that
Aharon haKohen pronounced Hashem's Holy Name in the Holy of Holies? What did it
mean to Aharon and what did it mean to us on a daily basis? What does it mean
to us today?
Reb Shlomo explains that these very same
lips that uttered Hashem's Name, were making peace between people! The Mishnah
in Pirkei Avot [Chap. 1] instructs us to be among the students of Aharon,
loving peace and pursuing peace, loving the people and bringing them close to
the Torah. It is explained that Aharon did not merely give lip service to
peace. Instead of spending most of his time isolated in the protected holiness
of the Sanctuary, he was among the people, talking with them, listening to them
and actively helping them live in peace. He would make peace between husband
and wife, between business partners, between parents and children, between
friends, etc. The holiness of Hashem's Name was on Aharon's lips every single
day. A holy person speaks holy; a holy person speaks healing words of comfort,
reconciliation and peace. Because he was so holy, the Oneness of G-d was so
very real to him. Because he was so close to Hashem he was so he could not
tolerate people hurting one another. His holiness would not allow him to do the
services in the Sanctuary, unless he gave it full expression in the street.
When Aharon would meet someone who was
'off' in his religious practice, he did not tell him "Listen brother,
you're off, you are a mess and you better change." Aharon haKohen saw with
'Mashiach eyes'. He saw the depths of each person. He saw that people are truly
holy on the inside. He actively loved them by being with them, by seeing and
focusing on their good points and their inner holiness, by speaking with them
lovingly, by helping them get along in peace, their Divine souls were aroused
and strengthened. Then they would on their own, realize how holy they were and
how connected they were. In his presence they became aware of the 'natural'
holy fire that is aflame in their hearts.
"Sh'lo sheenah" - he did not
change - means he did not try to make the other person change, says Reb Shlomo.
This was the greatness of Aharon haKohen. Aharon actively loved everyone. When
you see someone who is 'off', you need Moshiach eyes to love him and help him.
You don't learn to love from 'outside', it is a matter of the 'inside'. As he
would light the Menorah he connected all of Israel with the 'or ganuz', and thus inspired
all of us to do intimate Teshuvah.
Once during a television interview Reb
Shlomo zt"l was asked what was the secret of his great success in 'kiruv'
- in bringing so many thousands of Jews back to their roots, did he have some
kind of formula? [Kiruv - is the widely used term by those doing religious
outreach work. It means, bringing close.] Reb Shlomo zt"l said two things.
First, he said that he doesn't use the word 'kiruv' because who is to say that
he is closer to G-d than the person that he connecting with - maybe this person
who is seemingly less observant, is actually closer to G-d? Secondly, he said,
that he does not have any formula at all. He just prays each time that Hashem
should put the right words in his mouth and that these words should reach the
heart.
This Shabbos, may we all be blessed to
kindle and to see each other's Divine light, to see the reflection of
Hashem's light in each other, to help one another in kindling our
Menorahs.
Wishing you kol tuv b'ahavah ubivracha
Sholom
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 Coming or
Going in Beha'alotcha
There are two verses in this parsha that are so powerful that the Sages say
they could comprise a book of their own in the Torah. We say these
verses every week, one when we take the Torah out of the ark and the other when
we put it back in:
"And it was when the Ark traveled that Moshe said 'Rise, HaShem,
and Your enemies shall disperse, and those who hate You shall flee from You.
'Rest, HaShem, among the tens of thousands and thousands of Israel.'" (Shemot 10:35-36)
Moshe called out the first verse upon departure from wherever they were
encamped, and the second when they arrived at their next destination in the
desert. Both are prayers. Moshe asked that the path should be safe
as we journey, and that G-d should dwell with us wherever we go.
The Ark traveled in front of the Children of Israel. We can learn from this to put our
beliefs in front of us, G-d's Word in front our own plans for journey.
Looking a bit deeper, we also discover that these two verses serve an important
purpose.
One way it is derived that these verses are a book of the Torah unto themselves
is that they are enclosed by two inverted "nun's", much like brackets
or parenthesis. Rashi, quoting the Gemara, explains that this unusual
demarcation indicates that the verses don't actually belong there, but are
placed there to break up the narrative. These verses of prayer serve to
interrupt a list of the troubles caused by the Children of Israel in the
desert.
The obvious mistakes we made come after these verses, in chapter 11.
There, the Children of Israel begin complaining. (Nudging is apparently
an ancient Jewish practice.) Then they are overwhelmed with a desire for
meat. (Another ancient custom - Jews craving deli cuisine.)
What is not obvious is the trouble we caused just prior to the insertion of the
two verses of prayer. According to the Ramban, the trouble is alluded to
in the verse "And they traveled from the Mountain of G-d (Mount
Sinai)." (Shemot 10:33) Perhaps the trouble is seen in
the word "from"...
If you ask me on Shabbos morning "Where are you going?" - I'll tell
you I'm going *to* shul. If you ask me after a long day at work
"Where are you going?" - I'll tell you I'm going as far away *from*
there as possible. If we're going somewhere we want to be, we'll say
where we're going *to*. If we're leaving somewhere we don't want to be,
we'll say where we're going *from*.
The Ramban cites a Midrash that says the Children of Israel fled from Mount
Sinai like a child running out from school - presumably the child wants to run
away before the teacher can give the child more homework. So too the Jews
were worried that G-d would continue giving them commandments. Something
shifted and the commandments stopped being a gift, a way to connect to HaShem,
and rather seemed to be a burden.
Maybe the prayerful verses are in response to this shift. Moshe asks
HaShem to rise up - which some translate as "establish Your Divine
Presence" - let us feel close to G-d as we travel in life. And then
Moshe asks that HaShem rest among us. How could we feel that mitzvot are
a burden when G-d is right there with us? Each commandment is a way to
communicate and connect with G-d, which is so much easier for us when we feel
HaShem's Presence.
May we be blessed to experience G-d in our lives. May we appreciate the
gift we have of all the various ways to connect to the Divine. May we
never run from responsibility, but rather run towards holiness.
Good Shabbos! Good Shabbos!
Rachel
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 David Sacks teaches every Sunday at 10:30 am
at Mogen David, 9717 W. Pico Blvd
You can also listen to David Sacks online anytime by down- loading his Torah on iTunes, or you can read some of his best articles - check out his fantastic site Spiritual Tools for an Outrageous World.
The Myth of Separateness - Garden of Eden Part Five
June 10, 2009
Dear Friends,
Who is the real you? Or, put a different way, when you use the word
"I" what is it that you have in mind exactly? In this talk we trace
the history of consciousness from the Garden of Eden to Mount Sinai to
waking up in the morning.
Have a Great Week,
David Sacks
www.torahonitunes.com |
About Happy Minyan - Los Angeles
Please join us for davening every Shabbat!
Friday night: (Summer time) Early services begin at 6pm. Regular Mincha begins at candle-lighting time, followed by Kabballat Shabbat and Maariv.
Saturday morning: David Sacks' class begins at 8:30am, followed by Shacharit at 9am, then Torah reading and Musaf. There is a Kiddush after davening at around 12pm.
Saturday afternoon:
Mincha and Seudah Shlishit are usually around an hour and a half before
Shabbat ends and followed by Maariv and Havdallah at the conclusion of
Shabbat.
We also meet for davening on all major Jewish holidays.
The Happy Minyan is located at
the Karate Academy
9218 West Pico Blvd (at Glenville)
Los Angeles, California90035
Good Shabbos! Good Shabbos!
The Happy Minyan
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