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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 Ki Tissa
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www.bethisraelmiami.org
Abraham Galbut – President
February 27th 2016 18 Adar 5776
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Erev Shabbat Schedule
Candle Lighting
Mincha
6:03 PM
6:10 PM
Shabbat Schedule
Hashkama Minyan
7:30 AM
Main Minyan
9:00 AM
Teen Minyan
9:30 AM
*Afternoon Youth Groups 5:05 PM*
Rabbi Bixon’s Class
5:05 PM
Mincha:
5:55 PM
Guest Speaker at Seudat Shlishit
Rabbi Nisson Friedman
Maariv
6:50 PM
Shabbat Ends
6:56 PM
Sun. Feb. 28th – Fri. March 4th
Shacharit: 7:00 & 8:00 AM
Mincha: Monday – Thursday 6:10 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:
Nancy Galbut, Harold Litwin,
Ari Schuster, Joanne Tepler,
Avigayil Silverstone,
Robin Jacobs, Ozer Simon,
Cherna Moskowitz,
Elizabeth Berman, Leon Beylus,
Eric Galbut, Laurie Miller
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO:
Deborah and Judd Zisquit
Mishloach Manot 2016
STOP BDS and Help
Support Beth Israel
Congregation
$260 to sign up for
the whole list
See our website for
details.
Mazal Tov To
-Rachel and Jonathan Gdanski
On the birth of a baby boy.
Mazal Tov to grandparents
Susan and Stanley Rosenblatt
Rabbi Bixon will be speaking
on Thursday March 3rd
at 12:00 pm
-Pepita and Simon Bronner on the
birth of a great grandson
3200 Southeast Financial Center
200 South Biscayne Blvd. Miami, FL 33131
Weekly Announcements is
Sponsored By
Youth Groups Announcements
Pre-Groups begin @ 9:15
Regular Groups begin @ 9:45
Adina, Pepita and Simon
Bronner
in honor of the birth of their
grandson and great grandson
born to
Yuriy and Danielle Litvinov.
Mazal Tov to grandparents
Mr. and Mrs. Vladimir Litvinov.
Mazal Tov to great grandmother
Mazal Goldberg
Hashkama Minyan Kiddush
is sponsored in honor of
Harold Litwin’s birthday by his
children Efrem, Dov, Chanee, Avi
and Sharona, and his grandchildren
BJ, Ayelet, Daniella, Leora, Dave,
Zevi, Eli, Rivka, Chaya, Penina,
Rutie, Goldie, Yosefa, Yehuda, and
Bat Sheva .
Seudat Shlishit is Sponsored in
loving memory of
Beloved mother, grandmother
and great grandmother
Leah Rajsfeld a”h
15th Adar
By her daughter, Ani Leiser
Grandchildren, Leah and Zvi
Klein and Great Grandchildren
Alix, Sam and Jonah Klein
Guest Speaker at
Seudat Shlishit
Rabbi Nisson Friedman
Rosh Mechina
of Mechina South Florida
Afternoon groups 45 minutes before
mincha
Teen minyan is on for this week, we
are asking all Teens to please come
on time so our minyan can start on
time!
Mark your calendars!
3/23
EPIC PURIM PARTY
#PartyInISRAEL
Beth Israel Social Hall
Details to follow!
ATTENTION ALL TEENS
Special Teen Meeting THIS Sunday
2/28 @ 6:30 pm to plan for our
PURIM PARTY and Carnival. Stay
Tuned for more details!
Thank you to
Becky and Joe Leuchter
for adding to our ever growing
Jewish Library. May the Neshama of
their grandfather,
‫זאב וולף בן פינחס הכהן ז"ל‬
Herman Shooster
have an aliya.
Birthday Club for the months of
ADAR will be March 12!
Are you kids signed up for the
birthday club? Ask Rabbi G. to be
sure! Will be an Adar Birthday club
to remember!
Special next week - BIKUR
CHOLIM VISIT TO MT SINAI
HOSPITAL. Won't you join us?
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 Ki Tissa
DVAR TORAH BY:
DR. ARI CIMENT
IS ‫וּדבָ שׁ‬
ְ ‫ אֶ ֶרץ זָ בַ ת חָ לָב‬A BLESSING, A
CURSE, NEITHER, OR BOTH!?!?!?
‫ וְ ִאם בָּ טַ לְ ָתּ‬...,‫ הֱ וֵ י ְממַ עֵ ט בְּ עֵ סֶ ק‬,‫ַרבִּ י מֵ ִאיר אוֹמֵ ר‬
‫ וְ ִאם עָ מַ לְ ָתּ‬. ‫ יֶשׁ לְ בְ ֵטלִ ים הַ ְרבֵּ ה כְ נֶגְ ָדּ‬,‫ִמן הַ תּו ָֹרה‬
: ‫ יֶשׁ ל ֹו ָשׂכָ ר הַ ְרבֵּ ה לִ ֶתּן ָל‬, ‫בַ תּו ָֹרה‬
Rabbi Meir would say: … If you neglect the
Torah, there will be many more causes for
neglect before you; if you toil much in
Torah, there is much rewArd to give to you.
(AVOS 4:10)
Question: If we neglect the Torah, we end
up punished with having many more causes
for neglect before you- what does this
mean? I would’ve expected perhaps a
harsher punishment I.e.: Heaven forbid,
illness or pain etc) and so what is meant
here? The answer to this question is derived
from 2 more questions...
QUESTIONS: In Parshas Bo, G-d affirms
(in a very positive/uplifiting tone) to Bnei
Yisroel that we will go to ‫וּדבָ שׁ‬
ְ ‫אֶ ֶרץ זָ בַ ת חָ לָב‬/
a land flowing with milk and honey. In our
Parsha, in the immediate aftermath of the sin
of the ‫עֵ גֶל‬, G-d is very upset and scolds B’Y
that He won’t personally accompany them
but they will go to a ‫וּדבָ שׁ‬
ְ ‫אֶ ֶרץ זָ בַ ת חָ לָב‬.. This
positive sounding description of Israel
seems very out of place here when Hashem
is steaming at B’Y! That’s like a parent
scolding his child, “I am so mad at you and I
am going to have the babysitter take you to
the super duper amazing beautiful
playground”. To strengthen this question,
B’Y actually confirms that going to ‫אֶ ֶרץ זָ בַ ת‬
‫וּדבָ שׁ‬
ְ ‫ חָ לָב‬is seemingly bad in the very next
pasuk- ‫הַ ָדּבָ ר הָ ָרע הַ זֶּ ה‬-‫ אֶ ת‬,‫( וַ יִּ ְשׁמַ ע הָ עָ ם‬And
when the people heard these evil tidings)...
Second related question: When we bless G-d
before we eat grain, we say “ ‫ "המו ִֹציא לֶחֶ ם‬‫אַרץ‬
ֶ ָ‫ ִמן ה‬since ‫ לֶחֶ ם‬is the human finished
product, why do we bless G-d this way- the
‫ לֶחֶ ם‬didnt really come from the ground, we
put the ingredients together and formed the
‫?!?!?לֶחֶ ם‬
ANSWER/ANALYSIS: When Adam
neglected the only Torah of his time (not to
eat of the Apple tree!), mankind was
punished with having to work for his bread“‫ תֹּאכַ ל לֶחֶ ם‬, ‫( ”בְּ זֵ עַ ת אַ פֶּ י‬In the sweat of thy
face shalt thou eat bread). As B’Y were to
enter Israel initially escorted by G-d, they
were initially assured in parshas BO to be
going into an ‫וּדבָ שׁ‬
ְ ‫אֶ ֶרץ זָ בַ ת חָ לָב‬.
www.bethisraelmiami.org
Abraham Galbut – President
February 27th 2016 18 Adar 5776
Understanding that milk and honey are not
actually natural byproducts of land (milk
coming from cows and honey from bees!),
Bnei Yisroel still didn’t flinch at all because
they figured that as long as G-d is escorting
them, that will be His problem! In fact, thay
may have reckoned that the curse of Adam
was to be overturned as they entered Israel (
no longer would ‫ תֹּאכַ ל לֶחֶ ם‬, ‫בְּ זֵ עַ ת אַ פֶּ י‬
apply!!!)..
But, B’Y sinned by the ‫חֵ ְטא הַ עֵ גֶל‬, and this
miraculous blessing of ‫וּדבָ שׁ‬
ְ ‫אֶ ֶרץ זָ בַ ת חָ לָב‬
now actually becomes Bnei Yisroel’s burden
if G-d is not going to miraculously provide
for this reality!!! Now B’Y will need to
fulfill G-d’s promise of ‫וּדבָ שׁ‬
ְ ‫אֶ ֶרץ זָ בַ ת חָ לָב‬
and therefore ensure enough grazing fields
and workers to milk the cows/goats while
simultaneously employing bee-keepers who
can pollinate the crops etc!! (note Kesuvos
110a that says that the milk here is from
goats and honey is from dates and not bees
but please allow for some poetic justice
here)
When Adam violated the Torah of his time
and when B’Y neglected the Torah as they
were receiving it, they were each
respectively spared illness/death and
punished with merely having to work to
attain the means. When we say ‫המו ִֹציא לֶחֶ ם‬
‫אַרץ‬
ֶ ָ‫מן ה‬,
ִ we are constantly acknowledging
the fact that it is only G-d’s mercy that
enabled us to work for our food! He
could’ve wiped us off the face of the earth
when we did the ‫ חֵ ְטא הַ עֵ גֶל‬but instead
punished us by making us have to invest
time/energy to prepare for our
sustenance. The ‫וּדבָ שׁ‬
ְ ‫ אֶ ֶרץ זָ בַ ת חָ לָב‬post the
‫ חֵ ְטא הַ עֵ גֶל‬was a ‫ ָדּבָ ר הָ ָרע‬just like , ‫בְּ זֵ עַ ת אַ פֶּ י‬
‫ תֹּאכַ ל לֶחֶ ם‬was a ‫ ָדּבָ ר הָ ָרע‬for mankind
because now we are burdened with so much
wasted time and energy used for mere
sustenance. ‫ יֶשׁ לְ בְ ֵטלִ ים‬,‫ִאם בָּ טַ לְ ָתּ ִמן הַ תּו ָֹרה‬
‫ הַ ְרבֵּ ה כְ נֶגְ ָדּ‬can also mean that if we neglect
the Torah, G-d mercifully will withhold
illness/death but will find ways to make us
use our time and energy towards endeavours
that we didn’t need to invest in prior!
TAKEAWAY MESSAGE/S: When G-d
promised us a land flowing with milk and
honey, it was initially a miraculous blessing;
this was a blessing that perhaps could have
reversed the curse of Adam. When we
sinned at the ‫חֵ ְטא הַ עֵ ֶגל‬, however, that very
miraculous blessing of ‫וּדבָ שׁ‬
ְ ‫אֶ ֶרץ זָ בַ ת חָ לָב‬
became our own time/effort-consuming
responsibility. When we neglect our
spirituality, G-d punishes us not by
removing our blessings but by making the
path to the blessings more arduous (time and
effort consuming!). Almost every time we
eat, we acknowledge that G-d mercifully
allowed us the ability to work for our food
and create our sustenance with His help (as
opposed to wiping us out by the ‫חֵ ְטא הַ עֵ גֶל‬
and/or ‫ )!!!חֵ ְטא הַ עֵ ץ‬by saying ‫המו ִֹציא לֶחֶ ם ִמן‬
‫אַרץ‬
ֶ ָ‫ה‬... ‫ אֶ ֶרץ זָבַ ת חָ לָב ְוּדבָ שׁ‬WAS A
BLESSING WHICH BECAME A
RESPONSIBILITY AND A REMINDER
OF HOW BLESSINGS CAN BECOME
RESPONSIBILITIES IF WE NEGLECT
SPIRITUALITY- ְ‫ יֶשׁ ל‬,‫ִאם בָּ טַ לְ ָתּ ִמן הַ תּו ָֹרה‬
‫!! בְ ֵטלִ ים הַ ְרבֵּ ה כְ נֶגְ ָדּ‬
COMMUNITY NEWS
Bikur Cholim Miami Beach
If you know anyone that could use
help please refer them to Bikur
Cholim. See how you can get
involved in Bikur Cholim or donate.
Check out the website
Bikurcholimmiamibeach.com
Greater Miami Jewish Federation
SUPER SUNDAY
Sun. March 13th 2016
9 am- 6 pm
4200 Biscayne Blvd.
Activities for all ages
Be a part of this annual effort to do
good deeds for other. Help raise
money for the annual GMJF/LIJA
Campaign supporting Jewish needs
in Miami, in Israel and World wide.
Register at
jewishmiami.org/supersunday
Or call 786-866-8435
Project Witness
Mon. Feb. 29th
Doors open at 7:30 pm
Program starts at 8:00 pm
Presenting an original riveting
Full-length holocaust documentary.
Once Upon a Family
Jewish Learning Center 411 West 41st St.
Guest speaker
Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro