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Contact Us
Ohel Shalom
Check out our new and improved website at
ohelshalomchicago.org
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To determine if the Eruv is operational either click on the phone number link below, or call
1-773-74-ERUV-2 (743-7882) after 2pm every Friday afternoon or every Erev Yom Tov.
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Davening Times
Shabbat
Candle lighting
4:05 pm
Mincha 4:15 pm
Mincha 3:40 pm
Sunday and Thursday
7:45 am
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday
6:30 am
Mincha/Arvit
Sunday-Thursday
4:15 p.m.
Late Arvit following Kollel
Sunday-Thursday
10:00 pm
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Regular Shiurim
Kollel
Open Seder
Sunday-Thursday
8-10pm
Rabbi Olstein
Parasha Shiur
Wed 8:30pm (Hebrew)
Thurs 8:00pm (English)
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Rabbi Yosef Asayag
Monetary Issues in Halacha
Motza'ai Shabbat (Hebrew)
Ateret Chaya Simcha Hall
9:00 pm
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Men and Women
Ner Foundation
Rabbi Raccah
Wednesdays at 8:30pm
Will NOT be meeting this week, Dec 24th
Topic:
Parashat HaShavu'a
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MEAL
SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Seuda Shlishit
$100
Kiddush
$250
Breakfast Fund
Day- $15
Week- $75
Month- $250
Year - $2400
Fish Fund
$20 month
Hamin Fund
Monthly contribution
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SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Chair Sponsors
(119 sold - 141 left)
$20 each
New Set of Artscroll Talmud Yerushalmi
$35.00 for Talmud Yerushalmi
ONLY ONE LEFT
FOR NOW
Siddurim Shaarim Ba'Tifilla
($15.00 each)
Chumash w/simanim
($20 each)
20 New Talitot
(4 sponsored - 16 left)
$75.00 each
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This Week at Ohel Shalom
Rabbi Raccah's Parashat Hashavua Shiur Cancellation
Due to last mintue travel, Rabbi Raccah's Parashat HaShavua shiur scheduled for tonight, December 24th will NOT be meeting. BE'H it will resume the following week on Wednesday, December 31st.
Shacahrit Tomorrow Morning
Legal Holiday Schedule
Shacharit tomorrow morning, December 25th will take place at 7:45 am instead of 6:30 am.
The Kehilla extends a warm Mazal Tov to Sarah and Doron David on the birth of a baby boy this past week. Mazal Tov to the other siblings, grandparents and relatives as well. BE"H the birit will take place this Sunday, December 28th following the 7:45 am Shacharit. . May the Davids merit to bring their new son into his birit, Torah, and maasim tovim.
To sign up to bring the Davids a meal, click here. Tizku L'Mitzvot! If you need more details about their food needs, please contact Leah Chana Zayan.
In addition, the Kehilla extends a warm Mazal Tov to Dovid and Chani Mishlati on the engagement of their daughter, Batsheva, to Mordechay Afenzer of MN. Mazal Tov as well to Mr. Shimon Afenzer, Mordechay's father and to Batsheva's grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Abe Kompel. May the new couple merit to build a Bayit Ne'eman B'Yisroel.
Asara B'Tevet
Fast times and
Shacharit for Thursday, January 1st
Due to the New Year's holiday, Shacharit for Thursday morning, January 1st will BE'H be at 7:45 am instead of the usual 6:30 am. Thursday is also the Fast of the 10th of Tevet. The fast begins at 6:23 am and ends at 5:18 pm.
Rabbi Asayag's Shiur Will Meet This Week
Rabbi Asayag's Shiur on Monetary Issues in Halacha for men will meet this Motza'ai Shabbat, December 27th at 9pm in the Ateret Chaya Social Hall with pizza and fries from Tel Aviv Pizza.
Chanukah Party Recap
See section below and pictures that follow.
Annual Melaveh Malkah
Please see the section below with the schedule of lectures with our guest speaker, Rabbi Bezalel Naor.
Help is needed to hang up fliers. Please contact Elliott Alvayor or the office if you can help. Thank you.
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With Sorrow
With sadness we relay the news of the petirah of Mrs. Naomi Tzur - Naomi bat Mazal Z"L - mother of our esteemed friend, Mr. Yehuda Tzur, long time president of our Kehilla.
Mr. Tzur is sitting Shiva in Eretz Yisrael with his siblings. The phone number is: 011-972-2-652-4059. Of course, take into consideration the time difference (+ eight hours). The address for those who are in Eretz Yisrael is: 10 Shdarot Herzel, Kinisah 2, Apt. 5 in Yirushalayim. He will be sitting Shivah until Sunday morning.
מִן הַשַׁמָיִם תְנוּחָמוּ וְלֹא תֵדְעוּ לְדַאֲבָה עוֺד
May the family be comforted by Heaven and know of no more sorrow.
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Annual Chanukah Party Recap
This past Motza'ai Shabbat marked the Kehilla's annual Chanukah party. The dozens of members and friends who attended thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie and, of course, the wonderful buffet. There were beautiful arts and crafts projects for the children. In addition, Rabbi Raccah's much-loved Chanukah question was back for its bi-annual appearance. The children (up to the age of 15) were awarded $1 for every answer Rabbi Raccah accepted for the famous Beit Yosef's question. The question: If there was enough oil in the flask for one day, then the miracle was only for 7 days. Why do we celebrate 8 days? 18 children BA"H participated, and Rabbi Raccah gave out $123! Children stood patiently in line awaiting their chance to present their answers and get a big payday. Thank you to Shalom Bakery in Buffalo Grove for donating the delicious sufganiyot! Thank you as well to all of the dedicated individuals who made this party such a special event. Tizku LiMitzvot!
More photos from this event will be available on the Ohel Shalom website shortly.
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HaRav David Lau To Visit Our Community
SAVE THE DATE!
The cRc presents a special community event
KEVOD HARABANUSFeaturing the Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel, Rabbi David Lau, shlit"aWith a special tribute in honor of the 90th Birthday ofHaRav Gedalia Dov Schwartz, shlit"aMotza'ai Shabbat, January 17, 2015At Congregation K.I.N.S. of West Rogers Park
More information to follow... HaRav Lau's visit to our Kehilla
BE'H on Sunday, January 18th, Rabbi David Lau, Chief Rabbi of Israel will be joining our Kehilla for Shacharit at 7:45 am followed by a Dvar Torah from the Rav and breakfast. We hope you can join us. All the other Sephardic Congregations in this area will additionally be invited to attend.
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Ohel Shalom's 22nd Annual
Community Melaveh Malkah
We are busy planning for the upcoming Melaveh Malkah. Everything is falling into place nicely. Below is the schedule of the lectures where our guest speaker for the weekend is Rabbi Bezalel Naor. Rabbi Bezalel Naor is a prolific author and thrilling teacher of Jewish thought, Kabbalah and Hasidism, specializing in the writings of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook. Reviewers have lauded the creativity, depth and erudition of his work. A popular speaker, he is well known for making even the most esoteric topics come alive for audiences of all levels.
Friday night -February 6th at 8 PM - "What it Means to be a Kabbalist in the 21st Century"
Shabbat Afternoon -February 7th at 3:30 PM "Rav Kook: Philosopher, Mystic and Poet" Melaveh Malkah - 8 PM - Reservations required "Yachad Shivtei Yisrael: Unity in Diversity" We are looking for volunteers to hang up posters. If you can help with this, please contact Elliott Alvayor or the office. Thank you.
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Get to Know Your Fellow Kehilla Member
B"H the Kehilla has grown, and not everyone is familiar with the new families. In an effort to get to know each other better and to enhance the warm and welcoming environment we strive for at Ohel Shalom, we have initiated a new program. With this new program, people can sign up to host other members of the Kehilla for a Shabbat or Yom Tov meal. In addition, anyone who would like to be invited to someone else's home for a meal is encouraged to sign up to be hosted. Please contact Pamela Blatt at 312-961-6082 or via email at pblatt2620@gmail.com or contact Tamar at office@ohelshalomchicago.org to add your name to the group. When corresponding, please indicate whether you would like to host or be a guest and include your full contact information. We hope that this will help facilitate a more closely knit community.
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Personalities in the Bible lectures with Rabbi Raccah
In conjunction with the Ner Foundation, Rabbi Raccah's series of Personalities in the Bible will BE"H continue Motza'ai Shabbat, January 3rd at 7:30 pm. We hope to see you there.
Please check http://www.nerfoundation.org/calendar/ or call the Ohel Shalom office at 773-465-5274 Ext 804 for schedule changes.
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Early Mincha Minyanim
With the recent clock change, it has become increasingly difficult to find a minyan for Mincha. Agudath Israel of Illinois has shared their community wide early mincha chart with us for your convenience.
For a printable version of this flyer, click here.
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2015 Kitchen Rotation
We are working on the kitchen rotation schedule for 2015. Jobs include: purchasing food items for the kitchen, preparing the chamin, setting up for Kiddush and peeling and cutting the potatoes for the chamin. Men and women are welcome to volunteer. If you think this is something you can help us with, please call Tamar in the office and let her know which job you should be added to for next year. We also welcome substitutes for those weeks that the regular person can't do their job. (If you are currently on the 2014 rotation and wish to be removed for next year, please let Tamar know as well.)
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Amazon Smile
Do you purchase items from Amazon? If so, you are in a perfect position to provide the Kehilla with much needed financial support with zero cost or additional effort from you, beyond following a few easy steps just one time.
Amazon has a philanthropic branch called Amazon Smile. All you need to do is sign up (no cost) and select our Kehilla as your charity of choice and Amazon will give the Kehilla 0.5% of all your eligible purchases! There are millions of eligible items.
Follow these easy steps:
1. Go to smile.amazon.com. [Don't worry this is a genuine Amazon site, not a third-party site.]
2. Sign in with your email and password as you normally would
3. You will be taken to a screen with charity options. Scroll to "or pick your own charitable organization" and enter Sephardic Community Shaare Mizrah (our legal name) and then hit "search"
4. When you see Sephardic Community Shaare Mizrah in Chicago - hit "select"
5. Done!
6. Bookmark smile.amazon.com on all of your browsers because the donations will only be generated from the smile.amazon.com website. If you buy from the regular amazon.com website, no donations will be created.
Please take advantage of this opportunity
and sign up immediately.
Click here to get started.
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The Geshem Fund
Here are just two of the financial requests that came to Rabbi Raccah recently:
- Rent due and no money to pay for it.
- Employer late with a paycheck, and no money to buy food.
Unfortunately the list goes on and on. Please open your hearts and your wallets and make checks out to the order of GESHEM FUND and give to Rabbi Raccah or put in the mailbox of the office or the shul and Tamar will give it to Rabbi Raccah. As you thank Hashem for all that He has blessed you with, remember the less fortunate who are struggling and in desperate need of assistance. Thank you.
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Eruv Check-In
Is the Chicago Eruv up and operational for Shabbat? If you utilize the Eruv, it is your responsibility to check each week before Shabbat if it is up. There are now some new and easy ways to do this.
The Chicago Eruv has set up a website with this information, as well as other pertinent halachot and information about the eruv. The web address is http://chicagoeruv.tripod.com/
You can call the hotline on Erev Shabbat after 2pm and listen to the recorded message or sign up to receive a weekly e-mail update on the status of the eruv.
Click here to sign up to have the eruv weekly email update sent directly to you!
To Determine if the Eruv is Operational either click on the phone number link here, or call 1-773-74-ERUV-2 (743-7882) after 2pm every Friday afternoon or every Erev Yom Tov.
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Kollel Korner of the Sephardic Community Kollel
Come learn with the Sephardic Community Kollel from 8:00pm to 10:00pm, Sunday through Thursday. Please contact the Kollel Coordinator, Rabbi Yosef Olstein to arrange a learning partner or to receive information about the Kollel and its programs. Rabbi Olstein can be reached at 773-338-8046 or by email at Sephardic Community Kollel.
Donations to the Kollel
Donations to the Kollel can also be made via credit card. Please call the shul at 773-465-5274 or email the Kollel for details.
Sponsor Learning in the Kollel
Our Rabbis tell us of the great power and merit associated with supporting Torah learning. To that end, consider sponsoring a night, a week or a month of learning in the Kollel. Examples of sponsorship purposes include: in memory of a deceased loved one for their Azkarah, to merit a Rifuah Shilamah, or to honor a loved one or friend. In addition to the great merit of supporting Torah in our community, your sponsorship will be marked with printed pages noting the intent of your support that are placed in stands on the tables in the Beit HaMidrash for the duration of your sponsorship period.
Here are the costs for the various sponsorships:
A night of learning - $52
A week of learning - $100
A month of learning - $400
The Kollel appreciates the following sponsors for this week's learning:
A month of learning has been sponsored for December by Sara (Mashiach) and Yaakov Paneth in the merit of a Refuah Shelaimah for her grandmother, Esther bat Sarah Yenta and his grandmothers, Perel bas Sara Rochel and Sara bas Gitel Perel. May Hashem grant them all a speedy recovery promptly.
A month of learning has been sponsored for December by Pessy and Elliott Alvayor in memory of Yitzchak ben Eliyahu v' Tzafira, Natan Zechariah ben Pesel and Chaniah bat Chasi Elka. May all their Neshamot merit an Aliyah in Shamayim.
A week of learning has been sponsored by Marcel Theboul in memory of his father, Yosef ben Menashe and Camra, whose Azkara is the 4th of Tevet or December 26th. Learning from December 20th-26th has been generously sponsored. May his Neshama merit an Aliyah in Shamayim.
Three weeks of learning have been sponsored by Yechiel and Malkie Mashiach in the merit of a Refuah Shelaimah for his grandmother, Esther bat Sarah Yenta. Learning from December 8th-29th was generously sponsored. May she be granted a speedy recovery quickly.
A day of learning is being sponsored by Ruth Zelka and Carmella Bar Nissim in memory of their uncle, Naji Ezra ben Tifacha whose Azkara is the 9th of Tevet or December 31st this year. May the learning done on December 30th-31st help his Neshama merit an Aliyah in Shamayim.
A week of learning for the month of December, has been sponsored by Julien Partouche in memory of his father, Nissim ben Avraham and Gamra Levana, whose Azkara is the 21st of Tamuz. Learning from December 24th-31st has been generously sponsored. May his Neshama merit an Aliyah in Shamayim.
A day of learning has been sponsored by Sandy Hasson in memory of her mother, Mazal Tov ben Moshe and Sarah whose Azkara is the 1st of Tevet or December 23rd of this year. Learning for December 23rd-24th has been generously sponsored.
A month of learning has been sponsored for January by Sara (Mashiach) and Yaakov Paneth in the merit of a Refuah Shelaimah for her grandmother, Esther bat Sarah Yenta and his grandmothers, Perel bas Sara Rochel and Sara bas Gitel Perel. May Hashem grant them all a speedy recovery promptly.
Halacha of the Week
submitted by Rabbi Yaakov Azose
The Fast of the Tenth of Tevet
On the tenth day of the month of Tevet, the king of Babylon surrounded the city of Jerusalem in order to destroy it, as the verse in Yechezkel (chapter 24) states: "The word of Hashem was upon me on the tenth month (Tevet) of the ninth year saying, 'Son of man, write for yourself the name of this day, for on the essence of this day did the king of Babylon besiege Jerusalem.'"
We therefore fast on the Tenth of Tevet in order to humble our hearts into repenting fully and to beseech Hashem to pity us and redeem us completely. The Rambam writes: "The entire Jewish nation fasts on days which tragedy has befallen Israel in order to awaken their hearts and open the pathways of repentance for them. This in turn will serve as a memorial of our grievous actions and the actions of our forefathers to which our current behavior can compare; and this eventually caused suffering to befall them and us. When we recall these things, it will cause us to return to the proper path, as the verse states, 'And they will confess their sins and the sins of their fathers.'"
Everyone is obligated to fast on the Tenth of Tevet, and no one may exclude himself. However, children, meaning boys under the age of thirteen and girls under the age of twelve, are completely exempt from this fast and they are not even obligated to fast for several hours. Even children who are intelligent enough to mourn over the destruction of the Holy Temple are exempt from these fasts as long as they have not yet reached the age of Bar/ Bat Mitzvah. Even if they would like to be stringent and fast, their parents should object to them doing so.
Pregnant and nursing women are exempt from the fast of the Tenth of Tevet and they may not be stringent and fast. The definition of "pregnant" regarding this Halacha is when the woman's pregnancy is recognizable, meaning when at least three months have elapsed from the beginning of her pregnancy. However, if the pregnant woman suffers from pain and vomiting, she is exempt from the fast even in the beginning stages of her pregnancy, especially if forty days from the onset of her pregnancy have already elapsed.
Pregnant and nursing women are also exempt from the fasts of the Seventeenth of Tamuz and the Fast of Gedalya (their obligation to fast on Tisha Be'av will be explained at the appropriate time, G-d willing). Even if they wish to be stringent and fast, one must object to them doing so. Regarding this Halacha, "pregnant" is defined the same way as above, i.e. when three months of pregnancy have already elapsed. However, if she suffers from vomiting and pain, she is exempt from all of these fasts even before three months have passed, especially if forty days of pregnancy have elapsed.
Regarding the exemption of a nursing woman from these fasts as was mentioned above, Maran Harav Ovadia Yosef Shlit"a writes that even if this woman is no longer physically nursing her child, if she is within twenty-four months of giving birth and she feels immense weakness, she is exempt from these fasts. However, if she feels no unusual weakness or dizziness and the like, it is proper for her to be stringent and fast. Hagaon Harav Meir Mazuz Shlit"a, Rosh Yeshivat Kisseh Rachamim, rules likewise. Nevertheless, there are those who rule leniently regarding any woman who is within twenty-four months of giving birth, even if she does not experience any special weakness, that she is exempt from these fasts because she is usually busy dealing with matters of the house and the fast may weaken her.
Machshava (Thought) of the Week
by Rabbi David Shamsi
Did Yosef Follow in his Father's Footsteps?
Despite all the trouble Yosef faced due to his father's favoritism, in this week's Parasha, he seems to follow in his father's footsteps by giving his younger brother, Binyamin, 300 shikalim while giving nothing to his other brothers. The Midrash asks: How could Yosef make the same mistake that had caused him so much pain? Shouldn't he have learned his lesson?
Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein, in his monumental commentary on the Torah, Torah Temimah, gives a brilliant answer. According to the Talmud, if a slave-owner sells his slave to idolaters, as a punishment, he must pay his slave ten times his value as a slave. A slave such as Yosef (based on his age, gender etc.) was worth 30 shkalim. Since all of the brothers besides Binyamin sold Yosef to idolaters, each brother besides Binyomin owed him 300 shikalim (i.e. 30 shkalim x 10). True, the only brother that Yosef actually gave 300 shkalim to was Binyomin, but since he did not collect from each brother the 300 shikalim that they each owed him, it was as if he also gave each brother 300 shkalim. Therefore, Yosef did not show favoritism to Binyamin by giving the 300 shkalim.
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Jan 18th - 7:45 AM - Shacharit, Dvar Torah and Breakfast with Rabbi David Lau, Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel Feb. 7th -8:00 PM - Motza'ai Shabbat - Annual Melaveh Malkah with guest speaker Rabbi Bezalel Naor
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