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Baruch Hashem
Metzora – Shabbat Hagadol 5779
This Shabbos is distinguished as Shabbos Hagadol - The Great Shabbos. The reason for this is “on the 10th day of Nissan Shabbos when the Jewish people were commanded to take or purchase a sheep and start preparing it for the Pesach offering, they were able to do so without any restraint or objection from the Egyptians though the offering was a sheep which was a deity of Egypt. The population did not offer any resistance, they stood by and watched quietly.
Another version (the one used by the Alter Rebbe in his Code of Jewish law) of the miracle of that day which coincided with Shabbos was that when the first born/elites of Egypt witnessed the procedure of the Jews preparing the sheep for slaughter on the 10th day, to be used as a blood sign on their doors so as not to be killed together with the firstborn of Egypt, and based on a nine-time history of the total credibility and enormous capacity of Moses representing G-d, they did not want to take the chance of being killed 4 days later as they were told by the Jewish people.
They pleaded to Pharaoh to let the Jewish people go at that time so as to avoid the plague of the first born. Pharaoh refused and a Civil War erupted. The firstborn, the most distinguished elite among the Egyptians, waged war against Pharaoh to force him to let the Jewish people go in order to save their own lives. Many Egyptians were killed in those battles. The beginning of freedom was sprouting as the Jewish people watched their oppressors kill themselves. That day/Shabbos was proclaimed “The day of a great miracle”.
It actually begins the process of freedom that will culminate when we experience total freedom on Pesach which celebrates our being free.
Shabbos Hagadol represents a necessary approach to becoming free of all adversaries, internal or external, whatever limits our potential. To have full charge of our lives we cannot become a slave to the animal instinct within us. Because our souls, in order to stay in this world, need the animal instincts to live, we need to find a way to partner that animal instinct to our true and proper choices and succeed. In Egypt it was not the neutralization or elimination of the Egyptians that happened on that great day. It was that the Egyptians themselves transformed to realize and recognize the legitimacy and truth of the JEWISH quest for freedom though it came to save their own lives.
We too need to transform the various elements that seem to control us to work on our behalf to support our lofty objectives. Then we are really free as there are no adversaries. This can be applied to our own lives and every condition.
Today after Mincha we will read a major portion of the Hagadda of Passover as a true preparation for our upcoming redemption with Moshiach.
Have a great Shabbos and wonderful week.
The Shul Pushka Campaign
It's the little things in life that count. G-d fills the world every moment with His divine energy. Tzedakah is one of the special and significant ways to create an all-encompassing Mitzvah, and in today's world, we need more Mitzvot than ever. It doesn't matter where or how much you give, just make Tzedakah part of your day.
The Shul provides beautiful Pushkas (Charity Boxes)* to the community and to all those that would like to participate in the important Mitzvah of Tzedakah. To request a ShulPushka please call: The ShulShul Office: 305-868-1411 or fill out this form below.
To Learn More About The Meaning of Tzedakah Click Here
Jewish Holidays
All Jewish holidays begin the evening before the date specified on most calendars. This is because a Jewish "day" begins and ends at sunset, rather than at midnight. If you read the story of creation in Genesis Ch. 1, you will notice that it says, "And there was evening, and there was morning, one day."
From this, we infer that a day begins with evening, that is, sunset. Holidays end at nightfall of the date specified on most calendars; that is, at the time when it becomes dark out, about an hour after sunset.
List of All Holiday Dates
Below is a list of all major holiday dates for the next four years. All holidays begin at sundown on the day before the date specified here.
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5775 |
5776 |
5777 |
5778 |
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9/25/2014 |
9/14/2015 |
10/3/2016 |
9/21/2017 |
9/10/2018 |
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10/4/2014 |
9/23/2015 |
10/12/2016 |
9/30/2017 |
9/19/2018 |
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10/9/2014 |
9/28/2015 |
10/17/2016 |
10/5/2017 |
9/24/2018 |
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10/16/2014 |
10/5/2015 |
10/24/2016 |
10/12/2017 |
10/1/2018 |
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10/17/2014 |
10/6/2015 |
10/25/2016 |
10/13/2017 |
10/2/2018 |
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12/17/2014 |
12/7/2015 |
12/25/2016 |
12/13/2017 |
12/3/2018 |
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2/4/2015 |
1/25/2016 |
2/11/2017 |
1/31/2018 |
1/21/2019 |
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3/5/2015 |
3/24/2016 |
3/12/2017 |
3/1/2018 |
3/21/2019 |
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4/4/2015 |
4/23/2016 |
4/11/2017 |
3/31/2018 |
4/20/2019 |
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5/7/2015 |
5/26/2016 |
5/14/2017 |
5/3/2018 |
5/23/2019 |
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5/24/2015 |
6/12/2016 |
5/31/2017 |
5/20/2018 |
6/9/2019 |
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7/26/2015 |
8/14/2016 |
8/1/2017 |
7/22/2018 |
8/11/2019 |
For more information Click here
Project 33154
Project 33154 is a community wide program to create a neighbor to neighbor Jewish experience. The initial case study started Chanuka 2002 where 10 young Yeshiva boys visited every home in Bay Harbor to identify which ones were Jewish and give them the necessary items (Menorah, Candles, Guides etc.) for the Holiday of Chanuka.
Over 250 Jewish Homes were identified together with a color coded map or Members, Non-Members and Unaffiliated Jews. Over the next Purim and Passover the same idea was used in the Surfside and Bal Harbour area and over 800 new Jewish homes were contacted and had a taste of The Shul.
Block Shluchim
Together with color coded map each neighborhood was split up into different areas that include a lay leader from The Shul.
Before each Yom Tov The Shul prepares a special food package which promotes holiday awareness.
Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Succot, Chanukah, Purim, Pesach andShavout
Every newly identified Jewish household in the Bal Harbor, Bay Harbor Islands and Surfside areas has been contacted with thousands of Apples and Honey packages, Chanukah kits and Purim Mishloach Manos and food packages distributed this year.
Over 350 pounds of hand-made Shemurah Matzo (that’s about 2,450 pieces of matzah) has been distributed throughout 33154. If you are new on the 33154 area, please let us know so you can be included on this amazing and inspiring Jewish Program.
Send a letter to the Rebbe זי"ע
Throughout his lifetime, the Rebbe received hundreds of letters every day, from people of every conceivable background, occupation and faith. Today people continue to send letters to be placed at the Ohel for the Rebbe's guidance and intervention On High, in the age-old tradition of written prayer petitions at our holiest sites
Whether referring to one's own self or mentioning someone else's name in a letter, one should always include the name and mother's name (e.g. Isaac the son of Sarah) of both the one(s) who are in need of blessing and the signer.
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/761128/jewish/Why-Use-the-Mothers-Name-When-Praying-for-Someone.html
http://www.ohelchabad.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/78445It is preferable to use one's Jewish name. (Customarily gentiles use their father's name.) Letters can be written in any language. You can fax directly to the Ohel at: (718) 723-4444 Or you can use the form below to have the rabbis at Ohel Chabad Lubavitch http://www.ohelchabad.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/78445personally bring your prayers to the Rebbe’s resting place.
The Rebbe
The Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson of righteous memory, the seventh leader in the Chabad-Lubavitch dynasty, is considered to have been the most phenomenal Jewish personality of modern times. To hundreds of thousands of followers and millions of sympathizers and admirers around the world, he was -- and still is, despite his passing -- "the Rebbe."
Whether referring to one's own self or mentioning someone else's name in a letter, one should always include the name and mother's name (e.g. Isaac the son of Sarah) of both the one(s) who are in need of blessing and the signer.
Click Here to Know More Click Here.
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