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Beth Israel Congregation
Rabbi Mordechai Shapiro z”l Sanctuary
Weekly Announcements
770 W 40th St. Miami Beach, FL 33140
ph: 305.538.1251
email: info@bethisraelmiami.org
Rabbi Donald Bixon – Rabbi
Parshat Bo
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www.bethisraelmiami.org
Abraham Galbut – President
January 16th 2016 6 Shevat 5776
P
Erev Shabbat Schedule
Candle Lighting
Mincha
5:34 PM
5:40 PM
Shabbat Schedule
Hashkama Minyan
Main Minyan
No Teen Minyan
*Afternoon Youth Groups
Rabbi Bixon’s Class
Mincha:
Maariv
Shabbat Ends
7:30 AM
9:00 AM
4:40 PM*
4:40 PM
5:25 PM
6:20 PM
6:29 PM
Father Son Learning 50 min after
Shabbat ends in Ahavas Torah
Sun. Jan. 17th- Friday Jan. 22nd
Shacharit: 7:00 & 8:00 AM
Mincha: Monday – Thursday 5:45 PM
Weekday Class Schedule
Tues, Wed, Thurs. 6:20 AM
Masechet Avodah Zarah Shiur
Tuesday at 9:15 am
Women’s Parsha Class
Wednesday at 8:00 PM
Advanced Talmud Class
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO:
Michael Bixon, Rafi Weiss,
Gerald Tepler, David Muhlrad,
Rebbitzen Barbara Shapiro
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO:
Bernice and Edward Stauber
Make Reservations and
Send in your Journal Ads
Our Annual Dinner Honoring
Leah and Zvi Klein
Keter Shem Tov Award
Rabbi Zvi Rosenbaum
Keter Torah Award
Saturday night February 6th
at 8:30 pm
Please see our ad blank on our
website.
Saturday Night January 30th
at 8:00 pm
Book Review
“All Who Go Do Not Return”
Written By: Shulam Deen
Book is available for purchase on
Amazon.com
Mazal Tov To
- Rachel and Dr. Allen Shaw on the
engagement of their grandson
Yehudah Kreitenberg to Ahuva
Fleischmann
-Malkah & Harold Tokayer upon the
recent engagement of their
granddaughter Ilana, daughter of Judy
Neufeld of North Miami Beach to
Yehuda Borg of New York City.
-Malkah & Harold Tokayer on the
birth of their 8th great grandchild, a son,
born to Esti and Jake Asher of St. Louis,
Mo. Esti is the daughter of
Laura and Barry Tokayer of North
Miami Beach.
Kiddush is Sponsored
By Beth Israel and
Miriam, Joseph, Jacob,
Lily and Nathan
in honor of our
past president
Dr. Howard Abrahams
DMD
We are grateful to him for all his
hard work and continued
dedication to
Beth Israel Congregation.
This Week’s Announcements
Are sponsored by
Norma and Lenny Reiz and Family
in commemoration of the
11th Yahrtzeit of
Lenny's beloved father
‫יהודה בן אברהם ה'לוי‬
\
Seudat Shlishit is Sponsored by
Elaine and Bob Grover
In loving memory of
Rachel Leah (Greenstein) Bat Jacov
Whose 41st yahrtzeit is on 6 shevat
Granddaughter
Elaine and Bob Grover
Great- Grandchildren Ari, Rachel
(Bittman) and Joey Grover
Youth Groups
Announcements
Pre-Groups begin @ 9:15
Regular Groups begin @ 9:45
Pre Groups - 45 Minutes
before Mincha
Our brand new Junior Cong
competition has begun
The 2 teams - Spicy Mayo VS
Milk Chocolate. The series is 1-1.
Please make sure your children
come on time for davening!
Project Rochel Imeinu –
will focus on the communities
elderly making monthly visits,
making flower bouquets for those
living alone, and shabbat.
Please reach out to Rabbi G. for
volunteer opportunities and
sponsorship.
TU BSHVAT - IS COMING Chag L'ilanot!
In our never ending quest to
beautify the youth house both in
and out, we are looking for ideas
of how best to spruce up the
courtyard near the youth house.
With limited sun exposure we are
looking for creative ideas for our
Tu Bshvat program. Those that
have experience in this area
please reach out to Rabbi G.
DVAR TORAH BY:
DR. ARI CIMENT
NIKE MOTTO: JUST DO IT! DOES THE
TORAH AGREE?
ֹ‫ הוֹ ֵל וְ אֵ ינו‬.‫אַרבַּ ע ִמדּוֹת בְּ הוֹלְ כֵ י לְ בֵ ית הַ ִמּ ְד ָרשׁ‬
ְ
‫ ְשׂכַר‬, ‫ עו ֶֹשׂה וְ אֵ ינ ֹו ה ֹו ֵל‬.ֹ‫ ְשׂכַ ר הֲ לִ יכָ ה בְ יָדו‬,‫עו ֶֹשׂה‬
‫ חָ ִסיד א ה ֹו ֵל וְ א‬,‫ ה ֹו ֵל וְ ע ֹו ֶשׂה‬.‫מַ ע ֲֶשׂה בְ יָד ֹו‬
:‫ ָר ָשׁע‬,‫עו ֶֹשׂה‬
There are four types among those who
attend the study hall. One who goes but
does nothing--has gained the rewards of
going. One who does [study] but does not go to
the study hall--has gained the rewards of doing.
Beth Israel Congregation
Rabbi Mordechai Shapiro z”l Sanctuary
Weekly Announcements
770 W 40th St. Miami Beach, FL 33140
ph: 305.538.1251
email: info@bethisraelmiami.org
Rabbi Donald Bixon – Rabbi
Parshat Bo
One who goes and does, is a chassid. One who
neither goes nor does, is wicked. (AVOS 5:6)
QUESTION/S: According to this ethic, if
you go to do a good deed like learning or
visiting the sick and you either don’t learn
anything that day or the sick person you
went to visit was not there, you still get
reward for going. But where is the source
for such reward? And why should you get
reward?
Answer/Analysis: Peruse the the fifth aliyah
of our parsha: Moshe instructed the elders of
Israel on ROSH CHODESH NISSAN to kill
their Passover lambs on the 14th OF
NISSAN, paint their doorways with the
lamb's blood, and remain inside their houses
until the morning... Moshe continues to
teach the whole Passover service to be
observed for all time.. At the end of this
powerful aliyah, it says(12:28): ,‫וַיֵּ לְ כוּ וַיַּ עֲשׂוּ‬
‫ כֵּן‬,‫מ ֶֹשׁה וְ אַהֲ רֹן‬-‫ כַּאֲ ֶשׁר ִצוָּ ה יְ הוָ ה אֶ ת‬:‫בְּ נֵי יִ ְשׂ ָראֵ ל‬
‫עָ שׂוּ‬- And the children of Israel went and did
so; as the LORD had commanded Moses
and Aaron, so did they. But wait a second! If
the elders are being instructed on the 1st of
Nissan to do something on the 14th of
Nissan, why does it say that Bnei Yisroel
“went and did so”- there could not have
been any “did so” because “did so” didn’t
occur until the 14th!!?!?!? Quoting a
midrash, Rashi beautifully answers the
enigma:
RASHI: ‫ וְ הַ א‬,‫ וְ כִ י כבַ ר עַ שֹוּ‬:‫ בְּ נֵי יִ ְשׂ ָראֵ ל‬,‫ַויֵּ לְ כוּ וַיַּ עֲשׂוּ‬
,‫ אֶ לֶא ִמ ֵכיוַ ן ֶש ִקבְּ לוּ עָ לֵיהֶ ם‬,‫מֵ ראֹש חו ֶֹדש נֶאמַ ר לָהֶ ם‬
‫מַ ֲעלֶה עָ לֵיהֶ ם כְּ ִאלוּ עַ שֹוּ‬- So the children of Israel
went and did: Now did they already do [it]?
Wasn’t this said to them on Rosh Chodesh? But
since they accepted upon themselves [to do it],
Scripture credits them for it as if they had
[already] done [it]. — [from Mechilta]... RASHI
Continues: ‫ לִ יתֵ ן‬,‫ אָף הַ הָ לִ יכַה מָ נַה הַ כַתוּב‬:‫וַיֵּ לְ כוּ וַיַּ עֲשׂוּ‬
ֹ ִ ַ‫שכַר לְ ע‬
‫ש ַיה‬
ֹ ְ ‫ש ַכר לְ הָ לִ יכָ ה ו‬
ֹ - went and did: Scripture
counts also the going, to give reward for the
going and reward for the deed. — [from
Mechilta]and so this may be the primary
source of how our Tanna in AVOS derives
ֹ‫ ְשׂכַ ר הֲ לִ יכָ ה בְ יָדו‬,‫הוֹ ֵל וְ אֵ ינוֹ עו ֶֹשׂה‬- there is an
aspect of going that, irrespective of the deed
accomplished, is rewardable itself! But the
next step is WHY? Why should going count
as a mitzvah and which mitzvah would it
count as?
The answer can be from the other
quintessential example of the power of
going to do a mitzvah irrespective of
whether you can perform an actual deed:
www.bethisraelmiami.org
Abraham Galbut – President
January 16th 2016 6 Shevat 5776
‫הַ ְקהֵ ל אֶ ת הָ עָ ם הָ אֲ נ ִָשׁים וְ הַ נּ ִָשׁים וְ הַ ַטּף וְ ג ְֵר אֲ ֶשׁר‬
...‫בִּ ְשׁעָ ֶרי לְ מַ עַ ן יִ ְשׁ ְמעוּ‬- Assemble the people, the
men and the women and the little ones, and thy
stranger that is within thy gates, that they may
hear, and that they may learn, and fear the LORD
your God, and observe to do all the words of this
law. Why should little ones go and hear the
reading of the Torah by the king? Surely it is
no mitzvah for them as they can’t
comprehend what they are listening to!?!
Rashi says: the children: Why did they
come? So that a reward would be given to
those who bring them along- ‫לָתֵ ת ַשכָ ר‬
‫לִ ְמבִ יאֵ יהֶ ם‬. — [Chag. 3a] But pretty please
rush over and open page 1096 in your stone
chumash and read the alternate reading in
the hebrew Rashi brought down by the
Masechet Sofrim: ‫לקבֵּ ל ַשכָ ר ְמבִּ יאַתַ ם‬ַ just
the fact that the children were there gave
them (the children themselves!!!) a reward
beyond any requirement of comprehension
but just for being there!!! And so the 2
reasons that ‫ הַ לִ יכַה‬itself (even without
performing a deed) is a mitzvah itself is
because: 1) there is a training
aspect/preparation itself is mitzvah- (fits
with the version that the ‫ ַטּף‬are brought to give
reward to those bringing them (alts the
preparation/‫)מצוַת ִחינוּך‬
ִ 2) ‫ הַ לִ י ַכה‬is an
actual mitzvah itself!!! the ‫ ַטּף‬themselves
although not Bar Mitzvah can actually be
Mekayim the mitzvah of ‫ הַ ְקהֵ ל‬by being in the
right place at the right time..
TAKEAWAY MESSAGE/S: We learn
the profound concept that merely intending or
going to do a mitzvah is itself a rewardable act
disparate from completing the actual deed from
the pasuk in our parsha: ‫ בְּ נֵי יִ ְשׂ ָראֵ ל‬,‫וַיֵּ לְ כוּ וַיַּ עֲשׂוּ‬they went and “did” even before actually doing
anything! Even before saying ‫שה וְ נִ ְשמַ ע‬
ֹ ֶ ַ‫ נַע‬, the
jewish people demonstrated this incredible ability
to commit to mitvot/projects/good deeds when
they were commanded on Rosh Chodesh Nissan.
They are rewarded for their commitment even
before “fulfilling the pledge” which reminds
us all of how powerful our commitments are
even before they are actually fulfilled! Why are
we rewarded for merely committing ourselves:
learnt from ‫הַ ְקהֵ ל‬: 1) it is an aspect of training
ourselves to be better or 2) it is an actual mitzvah
itself- a mystical element of going to do the right
thing. TORAH MOTTO: JUST DO IT, BUT
YOU DO GET CREDIT FOR THE
TRYING ALSO!
COMMUNITY NEWS
Daughters of Israel Mikvah
As of January 1st 2016
the Mikvah on 2530 Pine Tree
will have new hours of operation
Sunday thru Thursday 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Friday by appointment only
Saturday from 8:00 pm to 10 pm
Special circumstances need to be arranged in
advance
EMUNAH of South Florida
Invites you to join the Circle of Life Benefit
Dinner recognizing Women Who Make A
Difference: Deborah Chames, Gita Galbut,
Dana Tangir and student leader Ella
Herman, Wednesday evening, February 3,
2016 at the YI of Bal Harbour. Guest
Speaker: Rhoda Dermer, wife of Israel's
Ambassador to the U.S.
For more info contact Co-Chairpersons,
Helene Berkowitz, Elle Bienenfeld, Susan
Packer, Sandy Spolter or
Pam Weiss, 305 538-1222.
Geula-Shalvah Chapter of Amit
Cordially invites you
to attend our annual luncheon
Honoring
Francine Katz
And Malkah Tokayer
For their loyal service
Sunday February 7th At Tower 41 at 11:30 am
Couvert $72 per person
Men and women invited
Mati Deutsch Chairperson
RSVP 305-532-6991
Or 305-588-6993
Live Concert with Uncle Moishe
At Jungle Island 1111 Parrot Jungle Trail,
Sunday Jan 31st 10:00 -6:00 pm
Miami, FL 33132
Great Circus Performance
Live shows and Petting zoo
Rides
Glatt Kosher Food
Medical Halacha Seminar
With
Rav Asher Weiss shlita
Sunday Jan 31st at 9:00 am
At 7900 Montoya Circle N.
Boca Raton FL 33433
For more info contatct rds@brsonline.org