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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
5:27 pm
Mincha 5:37 pm
Mincha 5:02 pm
Sunday
7:45 am
Monday, Thursday
6:15 am
Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday
6:30 am
Mincha/Arvit
Sunday-Thursday
6:37 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
Chazan Shimon Cohen
Taamei Hamikra -
Proper Torah Reading
Sunday evenings after mincha/arivit
(Hebrew)
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Men and Women
Ner Foundation
Rabbi Raccah
Wednesdays at 8:30pm
Topic:
Parashat HaShavu'a
will NOT meet this week, March 4th, as it is Purim night
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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
(127 sold - 133 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
Mazal Tov
Mazal Tov to Gabriella Elkaim on her engagement to Charlie Lavene from Memphis, TN. Mazal Tov to her mother, Belinda Elkaim and Aunt Batia Elkaim.
With Sorrow
With sorrow, we relay that Aviva Tzur, Moshe Shemer, and Yehuda Shemer are sititng Shiva upon the loss of their mother, Margalit bat Miriam A"H. Shiva is at the home of Mr. Yehuda Shemer at 2934 W. Birchwood Ave. through Sunday morning.
Also with sorrow, we relay that Abraham Seidman, Devorah Ben Abu's father, is sitting shiva upon the loss of his sister, Ethel bat Rina A"H. Abraham is sitting Shiva in his home at 7033 N. Kedzie Ave. Apt. 413 between 4-8 PM until Sunday evening. Abraham can be reached through Shimon or Devorah Ben Abu at 773-965-6052/3.
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, February 28th at 9 pm in the Ateret Chaya Simcha Hall with pizza and fries from Tel Aviv Pizza.
Shiur in Ta'amei HaMikra
Rabbi Shimon Cohen's Ta'amei HaMikra Shiur will meet this Sunday, March 8th, after Mincha/Arvit. The Shiur will be in Hebrew. Come and learn how to read the Torah!
Don't Forget to Change Your Clock This Weekend
Spring Forward! Don't forget to move your clock forward one hour on Motza'ai Shabbat. also it's time to check and change your smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector batteries! Be safe!
Cholim List Update
Due to the length of our current cholim list, we are instituting a new policy. In order to keep a name on the list, you will need to resubmit the name every Rosh Chodesh. It has been too hard to keep track of who gave what names. Please submit your names to the office to add a name. Thank you for your cooperation.
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Elections and General Meeting Recap
This past Sunday, March 1st, the Kehilla held elections and held a general meeting for its membership. Here is the slate that was elected: President - Chanoch Raccah
Vice Presidents - Elliot Alvayor, Joe Younes, and Joseph Zayan
The Kehilla thanks its outgoing president, Ben Pomerantz, for his many years of dedicated service. Countless times Ben went above and beyond the call of the position, and for that we are all grateful. Ben made it clear that while he may be leaving his position as president, he will BE"H still remain fully engaged and available to help whenever needed.
We congratulate them upon their election and wish them much Biracha and Hatzlacha in their new positions.
Many questions, issues and ideas were discussed during the spirited general meeting. Notes were taken with the hope BE"H of being able to implement and realize some of these thoughts. What was clear was the desire of all of the participants to BE"H continue to see the Kehilla grow and flourish. Realizing these and other dreams will require more involvement from our members, as the present team of volunteers are committing all the time and energy they can. Get involved and help today!
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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 Ayelet 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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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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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
Recently Rabbi Raccah has received multiple requests for aid due to financial difficulties. In some cases, there wasn't enough for food!
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 Mrs. Sror 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 by Dina Zuckerman and family for March in memory of Ezra ben Dina and Avraham. May his Neshama merit an Aliya.
A week of learning has been sponsored by Meir Sagy for the week of March 6th-13th in memory of Nissim ben Maimon and Mazal. May his Neshama merit an Aliya.
A week of learning has been sponsored by Rabbi and Mrs. Lawrence Schwartz for the week of March 6th-13th in memory of Tova Gittel bat Shmuel. May her Neshama merit an Aliya.
A week of learning has been sponsored by Julien Partouche for the week of March 3rd-10th in memory of Nissim ben Avraham and Gamara Levana. May his Neshama merit an Aliya.
A day of learning has been sponsored by Arlene Harris-Simon for March 3rd in memory of Leslie Robert Simon. May his Neshama merit an Aliya.
A day of learning has been sponsored by Margo Goldstein for March 6th in memory of Shulamit Salama bat HaRav Yichya Yosef Tam. May her Neshama merit an Aliya.
Halacha of the Week
submitted by Rabbi Yaakov Azose
Megillah Reading-The Proper Procedure for One Who Has Missed Hearing a Portion of the Megillah
Every member of the Jewish nation is obligated to read the Megillah on the day of Purim. One must read it during the night and consequently read it again the next day, as the verse states, "My G-d, I call out to you during the day and you do not answer; during the night I have no rest." This verse is written in the chapter of Tehillim (Psalms) called "Lamnatze'ach al Ayelet Ha'Shachar" and the Gemara in Yoma (29a) refers to Queen Esther as the "Ayelet Ha'Shachar". Therefore, we derive laws from this chapter regarding the Megillah which was co-authored by Mordechai and Queen Esther since they were the ones to institute the reading of the Megillah on the day of Purim.
However, since not everyone is an expert in Megillah reading along with the fact that not everyone owns a kosher Megillah written on parchment, we customarily fulfill our obligation of Megillah reading through the law of "one who hears is like one who recites." This means that one who hears another reading from a kosher Megillah fulfills his obligation and it is as though he has read the Megillah himself. Therefore, when the Chazzan reads from a kosher Megillah while having in mind to read on behalf of the congregation and the congregation has in mind to fulfill their own obligation as well by listening, it is considered as if they have actually read the Megillah on their own.
There is no distinction between men and women regarding the obligation to hear Megillah reading, for women are just as obligated as men are since women were saved in the same miracle during the days of Mordechai and Esther, in addition to the fact that the miracle of Purim was brought about through a woman, namely, Queen Esther. Although in some places it was customary for women to hear Megillah reading only during the night but not during the day, one should not follow this custom; this custom, which has no halachic basis, should be nullified as it was surely started by ignorant people. (Taba'at Ha'Melech)
During the time when the Megillah is being read, one may not interrupt by speaking at all until after the blessing at the conclusion of the Megillah reading has been recited. One who did indeed speak during Megillah reading while the Chazzan carries on with the reading of the Megillah does not fulfill his obligation, and his status is like one who missed a portion of the Megillah reading, as will be explained later on.
One should listen carefully to the reading of the Megillah and one should exercise special care not to miss hearing even one word from the reading of the Megillah, for according to many Poskim (including the Rashba, Ran, and others), if one misses hearing even one word of the Megillah, one has not fulfilled his obligation.
However, if it happens that one missed hearing a few words of the Megillah because of noise and the like, one may read those words from within the Megillah one is holding, even if it is not a kosher Megillah; rather, even if it is a printed one, one should quickly read the words he missed until one reaches the place where the Chazzan is currently reading, at which point one should once again remain silent and listen to the Chazzan's reading. (One will satisfactorily fulfill his obligation as long as he has heard most of the Megillah reading from the Chazzan and has only read a minority of it on his own from the printed Megillah in one's hands).
One may not eat before Megillah reading. Therefore, those women who do not come to hear Megillah at the time the congregation is praying in the synagogue and wait for their husbands to come home from synagogue and only then do they go to hear Megillah reading should be careful not to eat anything on Purim day until they hear Megillah reading themselves. However, they may drink tea or coffee or taste some fruit before hearing Megillah reading. Similarly, one may also partake of some cake or even some bread less than a Kebeitza (an egg's volume, approximately 56 grams).
Those who are careful not to taste anything before Megillah reading are especially praiseworthy.
Machshava (Thought) of the Week
Drunken Costume Party?
Why do we get drunk on Purim? Is Purim Chas ViShalom really any different than a day at the bar? And why does everyone wear masks and costumes? What idea is that supposed to convey?
In many ways, the world seems like a scary place: unemployment, death, disappointment, wars etc. So how do people respond? Many drink. The situation resembles that of a little child seeing his father wearing a scary mask. The child does not realize that the man behind the mask actually loves him dearly and only wants to help him. All the child sees is that terrifying mask. And so, the child screams and runs for it. Drinking alcohol is how many people run away from the scary mask of the world.
We, however, need to have a more mature understanding of reality. We need to realize that even though the world seems like a scary place, in truth, it is just a mask. Behind it all is really just our dear Father in Heaven, orchestrating everything to enable us to bring out our best. On Purim, we use alcohol not to run away from the mask, but to see beyond it, not to hide from the way things seems, but to connect with how they really are. This Purim may we all merit seeing beyond the mask.
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March 27th - Shabbat HaGadol Dinner
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