Zəmanim & Services

Shabbat Rosh Hodesh Shvat

Parashat VaEra וָאֵרָא

28 January 2017 * 1 Shvat  5777

Candle Lighting - 4:49pm

Minḥa/Arvit - 4:50pm

Shaḥarit - 8:30am * Latest Shəma - 9:39am

Parasha Limud - 4:00pm * Zohar - 4:25pm

Minḥa - 4:30pm * Shəki’a - 5:08pm

Shiur & Sə’uda Shelishit -5:00pm

Arvit - 5:46pm

Tset Hakokhavim/Havdala: 5:51pm

Weekday Prayers (Tefilat Avraham)

Shaḥarit: Sun/Thu: 8:30am

 Mon: 6:40, 8:00am

Tue/Wed/Fri: 6:45, 8:00am

Minḥa/Arvit: Sun-Thu: 4:50pm

Picture of the Week

Did he pray before or after the goal? See on the back.

A Moment of BAN

The irony is that to appreciate Hilel you need Shamai.

In the Beginning

This shabbat is Rosh Hodesh Sh’vat. Shevat (Hebrew: שְׁבָט, Standard Šəvat Tiberian Šəḇāṭ ; from Akkadian Šabātu) is the fifth month of the civil year starting in Tishre (or Tishri) and the eleventh month of the ecclesiastical year on the Hebrew calendar starting in Nisan. It is a winter month of 30 days. The name of the month was taken from the Akkadian language during the Babylonian Captivity. The assumed Akkadian origin of the month is Šabātu meaning strike that refers to the heavy rains of the season. In Jewish sources the month is first mentioned by this name in prophet Zechariah (Zechariah 1). May the new month bring upon us peace and happiness.

This Shabbat & Beyond

● This Shabbat - Rosh Hodesh Shvat.

● Beth Aharon Tent Dinner after Tefila: Keeping our tradition, we will have a community Erev Shabbat meal @ the Avraham & Sarah Tent, at 6:00pm. RSVP Event.

Following the meal, theBayit Annual Cholent cook-off and Tisch will take place with Rav Elli Kranzler, and cooks an judges from the entire Bayit & BA. We wish good luck to BA contestants: Moshe, Rina, and Roberta and to judge Amnon.

● Təfilat ‘Erev Shabbat @ 4:45pm @ Təfilat Avraham vəSara.

● Shaḥarit: 8:30am ● First Kaddish: 8:50am ● Shəma‘ Yisrael: 9:10am - all kids participate!  ● Youth Groups: See the Bayit Bulletin for all programs!

● Parasha: 9:45am ● Yimlokh: 10:45am - All kids! ● Dvar Torah: 10:50am - Rav Dov

● Knowing the BA Families - after Tefila we will have a special Shabbat talk with Etty Bar-Shai about her grandfather and her Persian-Israeli-American life experience.

● Kiddush: 11:30am. Kiddush this shabbat is sponsored by the Bar-Shai family in celebration of Tzvi's 68th birthday (1/1); Dolev's 6th birthday(1/24); Etty & Tzvi's 43rd wedding anniversary (1/29); and giving thanks to Hashem for Tzvi's successful surgery and speedy recovery.

● Before Minha Parsha Limud - 4:00pm: VaEra.

● After Minḥa Mila baParasha: Understanding a word in our parasha. This week: "תּֽוֹעֲבַ֥ת מִצְרַ֛יִם - To’avat Mitsrayim" - What does the word mean; how “to’eva” relates to animals; and were the Egyptians vegans? Basic (and love of) Hebrew is sufficient.

● After Minḥa Daf baTalmud: Daf Yomi with Rav Dov Linzer on 3FL. Bava Metsi’a.

● After Minḥa Shiur baHayim: with Seudah Shlishit at the social hall.

● Rəfuaa Shəlema to all the Bayit’s sick and to Israel’s injured bodies & souls. List on back.

● Many Thanks to Plonit and the Oshinsky family for sponsoring kiddush last shabbat.

● Mazal Tov! Eti Souroujon’s granddaughter was named: Bella Brakha Esther.

● Kol Hakavod  to Pedrico Stenli of the Div’ati Brigade. Pedrico is the only lone soldier from El Salvador, a country with a small Jewish community of a few hundreds.    

● Happy Birthday to Barbara Lipshutz, steven Fine, and ... YOU.

The Weekly Riddle

What are the 8 most spoken languages in the African continent? By order please :)

 (Guess before you take a peek. The answer is on the back page.)

   Rav Ovadia Yosef z”l

דין נטילת ידיים לסעודה

תקנת נטילת ידיים לסעודה

מצוה מדברי סופרים (כלומר, תקנת חכמים) ליטול את הידיים לפני סעודה שאוכל בה פת.

טעמי התקנה, טעם ראשון משום "סרך תרומה"

וטעם התקנה ליטול ידיים קודם הסעודה, הוא מפני כמה טעמים.

וראשית עלינו להקדים ידיעה פשוטה. כי הנה בזמנינו, כולנו טמאי מתים, משום שכל אחד מאיתנו נכח בימי חייו בחדר שנמצא בו מת, או שנגע באדם אחר שהיה בחדר שנמצא בו מת. אבל בזמן שהיה מצוי ביד עם ישראל אפר פרה אדומה, והיה הדבר אפשרי להטהר מטומאת מת, רבים מאד מעם ישראל היו נזהרים תמיד לשמור על כל כליהם והמאכלים שלהם טהורים. ובפרט הכהנים, שנזהרו שכל מאכליהם יהיו טהורים ולא יגעו בשום טומאה, מפני שהיו הכהנים אוכלים תרומה, וכידוע, תרומה טמאה אסורה באכילה.

ועתה לענין טעמי מצות נטילת ידיים לסעודה. הנה הטעם הראשון לתקנה זו, הוא מפני "סרך תרומה", כלומר, מכיון שהידיים עסקניות הן, ונוגעות בכל דבר, לפני שהיו הכהנים יושבים לאכול בסעודה, (בזמן שהיו נזהרים בטומאה וטהרה כאמור), היו צריכים ליטול את ידיהם, כדי שלא יטמאו את התרומה בנגיעתם. ובכדי שיהיו הכהנים רגילים בתקנה זו, גזרו גם על שאר שבטי ישראל (שאף הם השתדלו לאכול תמיד בטהרה), שכל האוכל פת, יטול ידיו קודם האכילה. וגם בזמנינו שאין הכהנים אוכלים תרומה, לא בטלה התקנה, כדי שיהיו רגילים ישראל כשיבנה בית המקדש במהרה בימינו לאכול בטהרה.

טעם שני, משום נקיות

טעם נוסף לנטילת ידיים הוא משום שרצון הקדוש ברוך הוא שנתנהג בנקיות, שנקיות מביאה לידי טהרה, וטהרה מביאה לידי פרישות וקדושה, ולכן תקנו חכמים נטילת ידיים קודם הסעודה, שיתנהג אדם בנקיות, ולא יאכל כשידיו מלוכלכות.

פירוש הבטוי "נטילת ידיים"

והמקור ללשון "נטילה" יש בו כמה הסברים, והרשב"א (רבינו שלמה בן אברהם בן אדרת, מרבותינו הראשונים), בתשובה כתב, שלשון נטילה מלשון אנטל, שהוא שם הכלי שמחזיק בתוכו רביעית מים שהוא שיעור המים שצריך לנטילת ידיים. ובעל תוספות יום טוב (רבי יום טוב ליפמן הלר) כתב שנטילה מלשון לקיחה, ליקח המים, וכמו שאנו מברכים, על נטילת לולב. (ילקוט יוסף ח"ג).

Daf Bite  –   טעם דף

As we have learned, two people who share a courtyard and decided to divide it can force each other to build a wall to separate the two sides of the courtyard. The Gemara explains that the need for the wall stems from hezek re'iyah - damage done by looking - i.e. a concern with privacy.

Our Gemara discusses a case where the two courtyards are one above the other, i.e. one is built on land that is higher than his neighbor's. We find that Rav Huna rules that each one is required to build a wall that is a minimum of four amot (cubits) high next to his own property - one above the other. Rav Hisda rules that the owner of the upper courtyard must participate in the costs of the owner of the lower courtyard.

(Daf Yomi from Steinsaltz.org; Bava Batra -6a-b)

A Story - of rushing to conclude

An elderly couple celebrated their eightieth wedding anniversary.

To celebrate, they went to the school where they studied as kids. They entered the classroom and found the table where they sat together. On it, it was still engraved: “I love you!”

On the way home, an armored vehicle passed by them. From it fell a sack with dollar bills, right at their feet. The grandpa insisted to return the bag to its owner, but the grandma insisted that they have the right to keep it.

At home they counted the money and found in their possession one million and a half dollars. The grandma immediately hid the bag in the attic.

The next day, two police officers searched the area looking for  the money. They knocked on the door of the couple, and asked the elderly if they found yesterday a bag with money. The grandma immediately replied: "No".

In contrast, the grandpa’s conscience bothered him, and he told the policemen: "She's lying, it's in the attic."

The grandma got mad at her husband and told police: "Do not believe him, he is senile!"

The officers approached the grandpa and began to question him: "Tell us the story, Grandpa, from the beginning."

"Good", the grandpa replied and begins to tell:

"Yesterday, when we came back from school ..."

 The two officers looked at each other and one said to his friend: "Forget it, we are out of here..."

Rega’ shel Ivrit - רגע של עברית

“Gibberish גִ'יבְּרִישׁ” is unintelligible or meaningless speech or writing; nonsense. Like: "He talks gibberish."

In Hebrew we often say: “Its is giberish -ze jiberish!”

But we can use the Hebrew word “Kashkeshet - קַשְׁקֶשֶׁת.”

So, let’s “hadal kashkeshet b’vet haknesset - stop the gibberish in shul!” - Shabbat shel Shalom!

Time to Smile  

- Get up! We are leaving Egypt!

- Come on, Moshe. Let me sleep.  

(Something we hear and say every morning :)

Rav Question – שאלת רב

Does the hat make the man or vise versa?

Parasha: VaEra - Sh’mot: (Exodus) 6:2-9:35

Historical Context: Location - Erets Mitsrayim and Goshen.

Creation Time: 2447-8 - Moshe returns to Mitsryim with

Aharon and the beginning of the Plagues - Makot. Moshe was

born creation year 2368 (1574 bce) and stood in front Paroh

80 years later.

Parashort: The year is 2448 and Moshe had unsuccessfully confronted Pharaoh. The situation had gotten worse, not better, and G-d reassured Moshe that in fact the redemption was about to begin. The 4 statements of redemption are stated for which we have the 4 cups of wine at the Passover Seder. Moshe's Yihus (lineage) is established. He is 80 years old and Aharon is 83. Moshe performed the miracle of the "staff turning to a serpent" and performed the first and second plagues. Moshe performed the third plague and forewarned Pharaoh about the fourth. The fourth, fifth, and sixth plagues were performed, and Moshe forewarned Pharaoh regarding the seventh. The seventh plague was performed and Pharaoh "hardens his heart" and refused to let the Jews go. (Torah.org. Rabbi Aron Tendler )

Haftara: Rosh Hodesh - Yeshayahu (Isaiah), 66:1-24

Haftarashort: Hashem does not desire sacrifices from the wicked or impure sacrifices in Bet Hamikdash. Good Judeans who bring pure sacrifices need not fear Hashem’s wrath, for Hashem will bring a state of peace to Jerusalem. Jerusalem will flourish with the ingathering of the Jewish exiles. Hashem would not bring them this far to let them down. Hashem will punish the wicked and  all the nations will help bring back the remaining Bne Yisrael to Jerusalem from many distant lands via several forms of transportation. Isaiah concludes his Book with a positive thought: All the righteous people will find comfort in the rebuilt city of Jerusalem. (haftorahman)

Connection to the Parasha: None. The Haftara for Shabbat Rosh Hodesh is a special Haftara read when Rosh Hodesh falls on Shabbat. We read this Haftara because of the pasuk (verse) it contains (1:23) “It will come to pass that every Rosh Hodesh and every Shabbat, all of mankind will come and bow before Me, Hashem.”

Mila BaParasha: VaEra -  Lice כִּנִּים

"And the LORD said [...] Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt." - Exodus 8:16.

The Hebrew noun כִּנִּים (kinim) could be translated as lice, gnats, or fleas.

Humans host three species of louse, the head louse, the body louse and the pubic louse. The body louse has the smallest genome of any known insect.

Lice were very present in human society until at least the Middle Ages. They appear in folktales, songs such as The Kilkenny Louse House, and novels such as James Joyce's Finnegans Wake. They commonly feature in the psychiatric disorder delusional parasitosis (itching due to feeling infested). A louse was one of the early subjects of microscopy, appearing in Robert Hooke's 1667 book, Micrographia. (wiki).

Although a louse may look cute in a picture, we don’t really like it.

Jewish World - Crock or Cholent Pot

In 1936 Irving Naxon applied for a patent for a food heating device in 1936. His device consisted of an insert, held up by a case that held a heating device, which facilitated even heating of food inside the insert. The device was also portable.

By 1940, Naxon got his patent for the device he called the Naxon Beanery, and he says his Lithuanian mother, Tamara Kaslovski Nachumsohn, inspired him. Naxon's mother had told him stories about a bean-based stew she used to make in her village bakery at home in Lithuania. The stew, known as cholent, is a traditional Jewish dish that cooks all day and rooted in the Jewish Shabbat.

In the early 1970s, Naxon sold his design to Rival Manufacturing, who rebranded his Beanery and put it on the market as the Crock Pot.

While the Crock Pot may indeed have been the original slow cooker, as it advertises, it's not the only one on the market. So, next time someone refers to all slow cookers as "Crock Pots," you can remind them not all slow cookers are Crock Pots, just like not all cotton swabs are Q-Tips, not all flying discs are Frisbees and not all tape is Scotch.

Today, slow cooking is as popular as ever, as 83 percent of families owned a slow cooker in 2011, according to Consumer Reports.

(Alison Spiegel / huffingtonpost.com)

Ktav Parasha: VaEra

This week’s parasha, VaEra, starts with God’s command to Moshe to take Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt, thereby ending hundreds years of slavery and galut. God reminds Moshe of the covenant with the Hebrew Nation’s fathers, Avraham, Yitshak, and Ya’akov.

But after finishing the first aliya, there is a sharp turn. We are shifting from the detailed command to leave Egypt to the lineage of Bnei Yisrael.

Since every word in the Torah is weighed and important why repeat a listing that we already read in the last parasha, Sh’mot? And why mention it here specifically at that moment immediately prior to Moshe’s approaching Pharaoh?

There is strong human tendency to argue with a leader, to deify a messenger. By listing here the Bnei Yisrael lineage, the Torah reminds the Hebrews, and also us the readers 3500 years later, their origins.

The Torah stresses that the departure from Egypt is grounded in ancestral setting and commitment, one of which a nation and a family can not exist, let alone thrive.

Shabbat shel Shalom and Hodesh Shvat Tov. tbs.

Biblical Quiz - VaEra

Kids: What were the names of Moshe's mother and father?

Teens: To which tribe did they belong?

Adults: How much older than Moshe was Aharon?

Experts: What was the name of Aharon's wife?

Speechless in the Parasha

How many plagues are in our Parasha?

What are their names?

Which one would you want to experience the least?

Support Beth Aharon! Thank you for joining tefilot @ Beth Aharon. Please support Beth Aharon. Mail donations, pledges, High Holidays 5777 and membership fees to: Congregation Beth Aharon, 3700 Henry Hudson Pkwy, #102, Bronx, NY 10463.

Check our blog to donate online and for daily updates: bethaharon.blogspot.com.Contact: Email: bethaharon@gmail.com; Phone: 917-885-4714. Tizku Leshanim Rabot V’tovot!

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Sponsor the BAN Advertise your business and support Beth Aharon’s Newsletter. Place your business card for $36/week and $252/ 17 weeks.

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Fill up your Shabbat and Holiday table by inviting friends and guests. Need a table? Contact Rahel Wachsman @ drftager@gmail.com for help.

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Martial Art @ the Bayit ​­Join Sensei Aryeh (Mike Fendrich) for

Martial Arts & Meditation classes. mfendric@gmail.com

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Guilty Until Proven Innocent: Sunday, January 29 | 7:30pm - 9:30pm | Main Sanctuary Bayit member Mark Baker discusses his work exonerating wrongfully convicted people and freeing them from life imprisonment. He will be joined by Anthony DiPippo, whom he exonerated, and Jeff Deskovic, formerly sentenced to life imprisonment and founder of The Jeffrey Deskovic Foundation For Justice.

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Protecting the Children: Tuesday, January 31st, 8pm, at CSAIR, 475 W 250th St, Bronx, NY 10471 Communitywide Presentation and Q&A with renowned Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Expert Victor Vieth.

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Annual Yachad Shabbaton: February 3-4 Join the Bayit as we welcome our friends of Yachad! There are many ways to participate:  House Yachad guests and their advisors  Host Friday Night Dinner  Join the communal kiddush/lunch/seudah shlishit Register to host at www.thebayit.org/yachadhost. Cost: $25/adult; $14/child, $75/family Sponsorship Needed: $500* – Leader; $360* – Host; $180* – Partner; $100 – Friend *All sponsorships of $180+ entitle you a family reservation, as well as listing in the bulletin. Register online at www.thebayit.org/yachad.

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KudduShvat - Join Beth Aharon and the Bayit kids and youth for Tu-Bishvat Kiddush-Seder on Shabbat February 11. With Rav dov Lerea.

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BA Annual Luncheon, February 25 after Tefila: Join Beth Aharon for Shabbat tefilot and Luncheon with Rabbi Dr. Richard Hidary.  

Luncheon Fees and other details to follow.

Congregation Beth Aharon is Riverdale’s Sephardic Orthodox Congregation, located at the Riverdale Bayit (HIR) Bronx, NY. We welcome all worshipers regardless of eda or level of observance. Our congregants take an active-leading role in Tefila and Kria’at haTorah.

                                     RIVERDALE: 718.796.2034

SHOSHANA M. SCHWARTZ, ESQ.

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Picture of the Week - explained

Betar Yerushalyim soccer player Itay Shechter scored the victory goal against B’ne Sakhnin. Upon scoring, he ran to the fans, asked akipa from one of them, put it on his had and recited “Sh’ma Yisrael Hashem Elokenu Hashem Ehad.” Did he sanctify shem Hashem or was it a sacrilege act to do this in a game?

Yael & Jared Kushner got permission from their Rabbi to be driven home after the President’s inauguration ceremony. Did they sanctify shem Hashem or was it a sacrilege act - chilul shem Hashem?

Some say yes, and some say no, but what about it is not our business?! As the sages say: “decorate yourself and not decorate others - kshot ‘astmakh v’al tikshot aherim”.  

Prayer for wellness

To Israel in captivity and Israel’s wounded bodies & souls; Reuven ben Aliza, Leah Channa bat Shifra, Yisrael Yair ben Yehudit Tzvia, Menachem ben Yehudit, Alisa bat Tsipora Malka, Rafael Daniel ben Mazal, Yig’al ben Sulika, Daniel ben Carmen, Eliezer ben Perle, Hafsa Yaffa bat Alya, Celaine Lipman bat Nathan and Bessie Danzker, Oshrat bat Dalia, Eliana bat Chana, Baruch Elie Ben Gittel, and all the sick.

Riddle Solved

The estimates numbers in millions are: Zulu 10; Amharic 20; Igbo 25; Yoruba 30; Oromo 30; Hausa 50; Swahili 130; French 130; Arabic 220; English 700.

Biblical Quiz: Answers -  - VaEra

Kids: Yokheved and Amram. * Teens: Levi.

Adults: 3 years.  * Experts: Elisheva.