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The
Happy Minyan Schedule for This Shabbat
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FYI: This Shabbat and next are the latest of the year!
Hang in there - it's gonna start and end earlier soon!
Friday, 6/26
Plag HaMincha
(early Candle lighting):
6:38 pm
Candle lighting:
7:51 pm
Mincha:
6:15 pm
and
7:45 pm
followed by
Kabballat Shabbat and Maariv
Saturday, 6/27
Shacharit:
9am - 12:00pm-ish
followed by Kiddush
Mincha:
7:30 pm
followed by
Seudah Shlishit and Maariv
Havdallah from:
8:53 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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Days Are Coming...
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Thursday,
July 9th:
17th of Tammuz,
Minor Fast Day (from 4:20am - 8:36pm) - Anniversary of the Sin of the Golden Calf and the breach of the walls of Jerusalem by the besieging ancient Romans (Ist century CE)
Wednesday night,
July 29th through
Thursday,
July 30th:
9th of Av,
Major
Fast Day (from 7:57pm Wednesday - 8:24pm Thursday) - Anniversary of the Sin of the Spies and the destruction of the First Holy Temple in Jerusalem by the Babylonians and the Second Holy Temple in Jerusalem by the
Romans, and many other calamities throughout Jewish History, may we be spared.
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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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Kol Chevra |
"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.
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Sunday Morning Beit Midrash
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Beginning
this Sunday, June 28th, YICC in conjunction with the Merkaz Hatorah Community Kollel is proud to announce the creation of a new
Sunday morning learning program. Every Sunday morning at
YICC, join members of the Merkaz Hatorah Kollel
for danish, coffee and individual learning in the
YICC Beit Midrash.
You can study the topic of your
choice with one of the Kollel
members.
Schedule:
8.30-8.45 a.m. Danish
and coffee and meet the Avreichim
8.45-9.45 a.m. Beit
Midrash
Program
Young Israel of Century City
9317 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90035
310-273-6954
shuloffice@yicc.org
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Happy Minyan Newsletter - Kol Sasson
Parshas Korach |
June 2009 |
Greetings!
Yesterday was Gimmel Tammuz, the 15th yahrtzeit of the Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe. The impact that the Rebbe had on Klal Yisrael is unparalleled. Through the Rebbe's guidance, hundreds of thousands of Jews have reconnected to Judaism, and indeed many people in our community are in our community thanks to him.
Reb Shlomo was very close to the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson (the Rayatz), received rabbinic ordination from him and was in fact one of the first to "shlichim" - emmissaries - sent out by Chabad to reach out to fellow Jews.
 As such, it seems fitting to share some information about both the Rebbe - as well as Rav Sholom Brodt's words of tribute to the Rebbe, too.
Gimel Tamuz
On the 3rd of Tammuz, we observe the 'yahrtzeit' of the Lubavitcher
Rebbe, Reb Menachem Mendel Schneerson, ztvk"l, zy"a. As a young student I grew
up in the Lubavitcher Yeshiva in Montreal where I studied until I was 18 years
old. I feel very fortunate to have been a student in one of the Rebbe's
Yeshivas. Reb Shlomo ztz"l said that since the holy Baal Shem Tov there was
never a Rebbe like him, nor will there likely ever be one like him again.
Whether you agreed with him or not, you knew that there was one holy Jew who
really cared about you, and loved you enough to reach out to you, and loved you
enough to speak truthfully to you, even when you may not have wanted to hear
exactly what he was saying. We were privileged to have lived in his times.
In honor
of the Rebbe, i'd like to share a little known story about this great
Tzaddik.
One of my relatives, was a very
special learned and kind man. Reb Avrum z"l, was a holocaust survivor, and
before the war he had been a Chassid of the Alexanderer Rebbe zt"l. He lived in
the Crown Heights neighborhood of NY and he would meet the Lubavitcher Rebbe
every morning at 6:00 AM, as he was on his way to shul for the morning prayers
and the Rebbe was on his way to '770' [Eastern Pkwy]. No matter how hard he
tried, the Rebbe always said hello to him first.
This really bothered my cousin, for he
really wanted to fulfill the mitzvah of honoring a Tzaddik and scholar, at least
by being the one to greet him first. So, he decided that since the Rebbe usually
greeted him from a distance of about ten feet, tomorrow he was going to say
hello to Rebbe from a distance of thirty feet.
The next morning as he saw the Rebbe
approaching he began to visually calculate at what point they would be 30 feet
apart. just as he was about to say hello, the Rebbe was already waving and
smiling good morning to him. OK then tomorrow i'll say hello from a distance of
50 feet!. the same thing happened the next morning at a distance of 50
feet....and the next morning at a distance of a few hundred feet just as soon as
the Rebbe turned the corner and he and my cousin came into view of each other.
Finally my cousin realized that no matter what, the Rebbe was always conscious
of him first, and was eager to greet him first.
The holy
Lubavitcher Rebbe, of blessed memory, was mammash conscious of every Jewish
person, and really showed us how we always have to do more and more until the
great day of the final Redemption ...let it be quickly in our days, Amen.
Wishing One and All a Shabbat Shalom,
Rachel Espana
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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 around 6:00pm and, a later minyan (after candle-lighting) will start at around 7:30pm. Early minyan'ers should please be sure to be on time so that the second minyan is not delayed.
* Inspiring Shabbos in the Redwoods with Reb Naftali Citron:
The Jewish Learning Center joyfully invites you to spend a
spirited Shabbos with Rabbi Naftali Citron in a beautiful vineyard setting in
the Santa Cruz mountains. Rabbi Naftali Citron is the spiritual leader of the
Carlebach Shul in New York. In
the 1990s he co-founded and ran the Jewish Learning Center in Santa
Cruz. Rabbi Naftali is an amazing Torah scholar and
teacher as well as spiritual leader. He travels all over the country presenting
workshops on Kabbalah and Jewish Meditation. It is a special privilege to have
him again lead a shabbaton in Santa Cruz.
We very much hope you will join us this year!
WHEN: Shabbos, July 24-25; from 7:00 PM on Friday July 24 through Havdalah on Saturday
July 25
WHERE: Four Gates Vineyard (aka Benyomin's Farm), 503
Happy Valley Road, Santa Cruz, CA
COST: $72 - $360. Children under 12: $36 - $54.
Large families: please inquire by calling Benyomin at 831 457-2673
Kosher meals will be provided. We are able to keep costs
reasonable because this is a cooperative shabbaton. All participants are asked
to take a turn helping to set up, serve and clean up for our meals. Accommodations are beautiful but rustic. Please bring a tent so you can camp outdoors in the meadow,
near the vineyard, or among the redwood trees. Plan to arrive by 6:00 PM on Friday to allow time to set up your
"living space" before the service (Kabbalat Shabbat) which begins at 7:00 PM. During prayer services on Friday
evening and Saturday morning, there will be a mechitzah (a screen dividing men
and women). Send questions and confirmations to Howie Schneider: chaim@mac.com. Please include
"Naftali" in the subject line.
Space is limited. The first 40 people to confirm by email
AND send their payment will be be able to attend. Make your check payable
to the Jewish Learning Center and mail to Howie Schneider, 6016
Soquel Dr., Aptos CA
95003. Include the names of
those coming and your contact information. An email confirmation will be sent
upon receipt of your check, along with driving and parking directions.
We hope to see you for a wonderful Shabbos together!
* Happy Birthday: Ezra Boyer and Shifra Hastings! * Refuah Shlaimah: Shaindel Feiga bat Baila Eeta (Sharon Asher) |
Parshas Korach - Reb Shlomo on the Parsha
- Rav Sholom Brodt, Rosh Yeshiva of Simchas Shlomo
An excerpt from a shiur given by Reb Shlomo Carlebach
zt"l in NY, 1984. (Not for commercial distribution without permission from the estate of Reb Shlomo zt"l)
 Gevalt! Where Are Your
Eyes?
... we learned about Korach. Rashi said
"einoi hitosoih" - (his eye caused him
to err) - his eyes weren't
straight, he didn't see it
and you know why he
didn't see it, he was so holy he didn't see the
holiness of somebody else.
Listen to this:
Korach never sinned in
his whole life.
He had no part in the
sin of the Golden Calf.
If you remember Aharon
was involved.
In fact Aharon took it
upon himself.
He made the Golden Calf in order to take the
sin off Israel.
Korach saw that the
High Priest was the person who
made the Golden Calf. Facts of life!
And now mammash he saw that [with] the spies
coming back everything falls apart.
He says what the world
needs -"we need a new
high priest -
we need a new high
priest to change the whole
picture"
But you know what he
didn't see? He didn't see how holy
Aharon is. You know friends, how much does it take
to see somebody else
doing wrong and realize that they
only wanted to save somebody else's life? That [is] already the
deepest depths. For that you need a
lot of depth.
And i want you to know
the deepest deepest depths -
You know why Aharon's
children are so holy?
Because Aharon had
this deepest kind of eyesight!
And you know in
Kabbalistic terms, Aharon
(aleph-heh-reish-nun) is the same letters
like nirah (nun-reish-aleph-heh)
mammash "nirah
eilechcha Hashem" (Hashem has appeared to you) mammash... Aharon's
eyes!
You know when a person
- the biggest sinner even - came to the Beis
Hamikldash and Aharon... looked
at him, you think he saw a
sinner?! He saw a yiddeleh so
broken that he didn't serve G-d so far. Aharon Hakohen said "Gevalt! This yiddeleh - if only (we) fix him
up a little bit (he will be) shining from one corner of the
world to the other!"
You know friends, to
see Yerushalayim, to see the Holy Land,
mammash you need
straight eyes!
Gevalt do we need
straight eyes!
And here I want to
share something very fast with you
and I want to sing a
song...
You know there's
'Toirah sh'biksav' (the 'Written Torah') - the Torah which is written in letters [such] that everything is
clear. Aleph is Aleph and
Beis is Beis
Torah sh'bal Peh is ...
(the 'Oral Torah'). I look at those words
and I know there's something deeper to it. There's so much deeper, and this deeper
touches me so deep that suddenly G-d
reveals to me the deepest secrets.
You know when I get a
business letter, I read it once and I
know it. I get a love letter. and I look at it a 1000
times, and each time it looks
to me (like it's)revealing the deepest
depths!
I remember one boy
when I was in yeshiva - he got a love letter. I saw him reading it a
1000 times.
The girl could have
written "Dear Reuven", "Dearest
Reuven", "My Dearest Reuven". He says "You know
how she writes to me?
"M-y D-e-a-r-e-s-t R-e-u-v-e-n"! Who knows how many
Torahs he was saying over those 3 words!
I want you to know my
most beautiful friends, it's possible to look
at Shabbos and not see the
holiness of Shabbos.
You know our sisters
have the great privilege of kindling lights on Sahbbos. Isn't that crazy -
Shabbos is the greatest light in the world, and you need two
candles?!
You know what it is? It's possible to see
Shabbos, but not to see it at all. (One who doesn't see
Shabbos thinks) it's the most boring day of the week. What do you do? - Pray
a little bit? Eat chulent? Eat lokshen soup? Then you go home and sleep
a little. It's disgusting. And it really is if
this is what you see.
So you know what our
mothers do for us? - our sisters? ...
[They] kindle little
lights, but those little
lights mammash open our eyes. We should mammash see!
Really really really
really see!
Wishing you kol tuv b'ahavah ubivracha
Sholom |
 In Our Hands In Korach
The
Baal Shem Tov relates the famous story of a clever teacher and his
frustrated student. The student wants to catch his teacher off guard,
outsmart him for once. So the student takes a young bird into his hand
and goes to ask his teacher if the bird hidden in his hand is alive or
dead. The student decides that if the teacher says the bird is alive,
he'll crush it with his hand and kill it. If the teacher guesses it's
dead, the student will open his hand and let the bird fly away. Either
way, the student tricks his teacher, the student "wins"... or so he
thinks. When the student asks his teacher if the bird in his hand is
alive or dead, the teacher simply replies "The answer is in your hands."
In this week's parsha, Korach, we learn of
a terrible story of discord and infighting so severe it leads to the
supernatural death of a few hundred people from the Children of Israel
- all were participants in a failed rebellion against Moshe and
Aharon, led by their first cousin, Korach. Basically what happens is Korach
becomes jealous that he has no special position of leadership among the
Jews - specifically he would like to be the High Priest like Aharon.
When he is rebuffed in his efforts to take some leadership role, Korach becomes cynical and mocks Moshe and denies the validity of all of Moshe's prophecies and Moshe's ability to lead the people. Korach
gets a whole crew of such rebellious-minded people - 250 men to be
precise - and they attempt to overthrow Moshe. Ultimately, they are
consumed by the earth, which miraculously opened up and swallowed Korach and his cohorts alive.
Perhaps we could say the number was actually 249 men. One man -
Ohn ben Pelet - who initially was a top leader in the rebellion, got
out alive and unharmed. How?
The Midrash, based on Gemara
Sanhedrin 100a, teaches that it is in the merit of his wife that Ohn
got out of the rebellion and thus was saved from the fate the others
met.
Interestingly enough, the same Midrash comments that in quite the opposite manner, the wife of Korach is the one who inspired the rebellion in her husband, and that led to his demise.
The wife of Ohn tells him that logically, there's nothing in this rebellion for him - either Moshe or Korach
will be leader, not him. He agrees with her logic, but insists that he
swore he would join in the rebellion, and must fulfill his promise. Her
next tactic was to get him drunk on the
eve of the rebellion in order for him to fall asleep, thus preventing
him from running out to meet the group. Then she sits at the opening
of their tent and uncovers her hair, an immodest act which she knew
would scare away Korach and his group as they
came to get Ohn. Then she prays on Ohn's behalf when it seems the
earth is coming to swallow him up anyway. Finally she urges Ohn to
repent himself and make amends with Moshe, which she even assists him in,
because Ohn is too ashamed to approach Moshe at first. It worked. And Ohn survived.
On the other hand, the wife of Korach
nudges and nags him about all the unfairness and all the humiliation
under Moshe's rule. She mocks the purification process for the Leviim
(Levites) that Korach is subjected to. She
jokes with the rest of them about seemingly ridiculous scenarios like placing blue tzitit on a blue talit, as well
as placing mezuzahs on the door-posts of study halls filled with Torahs. Korach
and company agreed with her mockery and felt all of that was clearly
redundant and therefore unnecessary, though Moshe stated otherwise.
She continues to mock such holy matters and Korach relates to the dissatisfied, narrow view of life she has.
In Mishlei (Proverbs 14:1*) it says that the woman builds her home
with wisdom, and destroys it with her own hands. It's one or the
other. That's the power of a woman. She can build her home with
wisdom, or she could destroy it with her own hands - her deeds. Maybe Korach
and Ohn were actually very similar, with the only major variable in
their lives being their wives. Otherwise, their fates may have been
the same. The wife made the difference.
As a woman, I pray for myself and all my sisters that we understand
and appreciate the power we have to make or break our families, and
that we are blessed to only be constructive holy influences. And
may all our brothers be blessed with loving wives who build them up.
May HaShem guide us all in building with wisdom, and never destroying
with our own hands.
Shabbat Shalom,
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.
Body vs. Soul - The Delicate Balance
Dear Friends,
According to the Jewish view of the world, the body and the soul are meant to
be best friends. Without the soul the body is just a lump of earth, and
without body the soul has no way to perform mitzvahs in this world.
How are we to proceed when (as is so often the case) the body and the soul are
at odds with each other? In this week's talk we lay out a program on how
to assess and needs of each and how to balance them
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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