This Motzei Shabbat Nov 19th at 8:00 pm at Moed
Conversation with Batya Shmueli
Batya grew up on the banks of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. Her story is one of transition from agrarian village life to the fast pace of a modern society in Israel, a land that her father’s dreamed of. In Batya's family hid their Jewish identity because of persecution against Jews. In 1991, after discovering at age 11 that she is Jewish, she moved to Israel with her family
After arriving in Israel she was sent away to a dormitory high school. Life in a dormitory exposed Batya to a culture different than anything she had ever known before. After high school, Batya served in the navy with an elite naval commando unit and then moved to L.A for a year to discover another part of the world.
Back in Israel, Batya completed an undergraduate degree at Haifa University with majors in teaching and the history of the Jewish People. After completing a first degree, Batya devoted herself to helping others. She now lives in the artist colony Ein Hod and teaches in the Yamin Odr Youth Village, and is a powerful voice bridging Ethiopian Jewish traditions to modern Israel.
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At the ripe ages of 90 and 100 respectively, Avraham and Sara had dreams yet unfulfilled. When Sara is told that she and Avraham will indeed be blessed with the child that they yearned for “And Sara laughed within herself” Bereshit 19:12.
Laughter is the visceral emotional expression of expecting one reality and being delivered another. Gold Meir once remarked,“Those who do not know how to weep with their whole heart don't know how to laugh either.” This assertion implies that allowing oneself to feel is the foundation for the full range of emotions. The years that Sara spent confronting her lot in tears, also brought her the ability to tap into the depth of her emotions in laughter.
Rebbe Brucha and Eliyahu Hanavi saw two men passing by when Eliyahu mentioned, “Those two will have a share in the world to come”. Intrigued by this declaration Rebbe Beroka inquired as to what these men do in this world. The men revealed that they are jesters who seek out people who are sad and work to make them laugh, and when they see people in the midst of a dispute, they step in and try to mediate a peaceful resolution. (Taanit 22a) By cajoling others in the depths of despair to laugh or in the midst a conflict to consider a way out- they paved the way for people to experience the other possibilities and that remain. This achievement is what merited their welcome in the world beyond, the world to come.
May the echo of Sara’s laughter in this week’s parsha, the resolution of her years of crying, remind us of the unexpected and astonishing promises that are yet to come.
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Shabbat Parashat Vayara 18th of Cheshvan – Nov. 18-19
Candle Lighting............................. 4:07 pm
Mincha and Kabblat Shabbat at Moed”… 4:25
Let's Welcome Shabbat Together
Shkiya/Sunset..............................4:37 pm
Shacharit.....................................8:45 am
Sof Zman Kriyat Shma.................8:43 am
Dvar Tora: “Sara Laughed; Leading with Laughter “ –Rabbi Yair Silverman
Havdalah after…………………. 5:19 pm
Du-Shiach with Batya Shmueli at Moed....8:00 pm
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If you would like to make a celebratory Kiddush with the Kehillah noting a birthday, exam success, recovery from ill-health or anniversary - or to mark the Yahrzeit of a family member who was dear to you- or a gesture to the kehillah , please do email me your preferred date at - oster...@gmail.com
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Shared Torah study fuels the creative and dynamic foundation of our community.
Be a part of it!
Sunday
8:45-9:45 am -Talmud Kidushin–- with Ilana Fodiman-Silverman (in English) at the Bernstein Home Hashomer 43, Neve Habaron
Tuesday
4:00-5:00 pm Hessed and Tzedek Project with Elisabeth Mayman and Rabbi Yair Silverman at Zichron's Youth Center
Wednesday
“Matan” Morning of learning for women at Neve HaBaron , 4 Reuven
Thursday
11:30 am-12:30 pm Parshat Ha'shavua (in English) with Rabbi Yair Silverman at Zichron Yaakov Library 4 Hadagan
Friday
8:15-8:45 am Tefila Boot Camp: a quick examination of prayer with a jolt of caffeine (English) with Rabbi Yair Silverman at Cafe Nili Ha-Meyasdim st.
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