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                                     RABBI'S ARCHIVE

                Rabbi's Page

RABBI'S THOUGHTS: PARSHAS MASSEI

Journeying Through Life

This week's Parsha speaks in great detail about the journeys of the Children of Israel through their years in the wilderness. The Torah specifies each and every one of the 42 journeys which they undertook.

The Torah does not just tell us things for no reason. There is always a lesson which we can take away for our everyday lives.

All of us have embarked upon many journeys throughout our lives, both physically and spiritually. We make many stops along the way. These stops are important, they are rungs on the ladder, stages on the way to our destination. It is all too easy, once we get there, to forget about the stages we passed along the way. Sometimes we forget about the people who helped us along the way. This week's Parsha reminds us that even though we may have reached our destination, we should always be cognizant of the path which brought us there and not to take for granted those who have encouraged and guided us throughout our "journeys". Those previous stages may seem like mere 'stepping stones' now that we have reached our goal, but they are nonetheless important. At the time, they represented a journey, progress, a step closer to our destination. They are still important now as without them we would not be where we are today.

A young boy was travelling from Jerusalem to the Galilee. He arrived at a four-way crossroads and discovered, to his horror, that the sign had fallen down.

Now he had no way to know which road to take to reach his destination. What was he to do?

The answer was simple. He knew where he was coming from - Jerusalem. By arranging the sign so that Jerusalem pointed to the path he had just come from, he was able to figure out which way to go.

When we know where we have come from, we can know where we are going to. This week's Parshas remind us of this. May we all strive, and ultimately reach our destination.

Shabbat Shalom
 

 

SERVICES SEMINAR & WARDEN TRAINING

A number of people have enquired about learning how to function as wardens in Shul or simply to find out more about the service.

We will be holding one or two sessions, open to any gentlemen who might be interested in trying their hand at assisting the warden or learning more about the traditions and laws governing our services.

If you think you would like to take part, please contact Ray Lawrence in the Shul Office. Please let Ray know which of the following dates you are available and whether afternoon or evening:

Sunday 16th March, 6th or 13th April, afternoon (4-6pm) or evening (8pm)

PESACH STUDY

There will be a Learning session in place of the sermon on Shabbat, 12th April Rabbi Mordechai will go through the relevant Halachot pertaining to Pesach which fallson a Saturday night, when to search for Chometz, burn it, eat it, Seder and much more.

 

CARE COMMITTEE

We are trying to revive the Care Committee once again.  The Rabbi will be contacting those who have been involved in the past to arrange a meeting.

We are looking for new volunteers, either to visit people or to help with logistics, in particular someone who is available by phone who would be willing to act as a co-ordinator.

Please contact Rabbi Wollenberg for more information

 




MEZUZOS FOR SALE

To meet the demand for good high quality  Mezuzos, Rabbi Wollenberg now has a
large quantity of parchments available at a reasonable price. They are 'in stock' and available now

Cases are available from the Shul gift shop

 

Kashrus reminder

Please remember that any food or drink coming into the Shul must comply with
the rules of Kashrus. If in doubt, please consult Rabbi or Mrs Wollenberg or
one of the shomrim: Esther Cohen, Linda Harris, Jonathan Rapport, or Judy Schwartz.

 


There will be a Question-and-Answer session in place of the sermon on the following Shabbat:

TBA

Please e-mail or send questions on any topic as long as it has some Jewish link, however tenuous, to the Rabbi

 

YAHRZEIT REMINDER SERVICE

The Shul office sends out Yahrzeit reminders as a service to members, shortly before the Hebrew date of the actual Yahrzeit. If you are not receiving notification of Yahrzeit dates and wish to do so, please make sure we have all yourYahrzeit details on our database by filling in the form below and returning it to the Shul office as soon aspossible.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Name _______________________________________________

Address ______________________________________________

____________________________________________________

Telephone Number _____________________________________

Please send me yahrzeit reminders for the dates below:

Please fill in either the Hebrew date of the yahrzeit or the original English date

including the year so we can calculate the Hebrew date

Name/relative ________________________________________

Date of yahrzeit _______________________________________

Name/relative ________________________________________

Date of yahrzeit _______________________________________

Name/relative ________________________________________

Date of yahrzeit _______________________________________

Name/relative ________________________________________

 

INFORMATION ABOUT YAHRZEIT CUSTOMS

For help with calculating Hebrew dates, please contact the Rabbi

KADDISH

It is a big zechus (merit) for the soul of the deceased to attend synagogue services on the actual Hebrew anniversary of the passing in order to recite the mourners' Kaddish prayer.

For service times click here

If you are unable to attend services but wish to have Kaddish recited, please contact Rabbi Mordechai or one of theWardens.

ALIYA TO THE TORAH

For men, it is customary to receive an Aliya (Call-up) to the Torah on the actual Yahrzeit or the nearest occasion to it - either the Saturday morning or a Monday or Thursday morning. If you attend Shul you will be welcome to an Aliya - it is worth advising the Rabbi or one of the wardens in advance to ensure a slot.

LEARNING AND CHARITY

It is customary to learn mishnayot in memory of the deceased. For help with this, please contact Rabbi Mordechai. It is also customary to donate to charity in honour of the deceased.

The Yahrzeit is an especially auspicious time to do this and it is considered a great merit.

YAHRZEIT CANDLE

It is customary to light a Yahrzeit (memorial) candle which burns for24+ hours for the duration of the Hebrew anniversary of passing, starting from sunset of the previous night, like all dates in the Hebrew calendar. Yahrzeit candles are available from the gift shop at the Shul or sometimes from the Koshersections at Sainsbury's (Colchester Avenue) or Tesco Extra.

 

 

 

 

 

MISHNA CLASS
Thursdays 7:00-7:30pm
At the Shul
Study the classical texts

TALMUD CLASS
Sunday Mornings in Shul
After minyan until 10am
Explore the Babylonian Talmud in-depth!

WEEKLY TORAH PORTION
Every Monday night
8:00-9:15pm  89 Carisbrooke Way
Explore and discuss the weekly Torah reading as read in Shul on Shabbat,
with commentaries and contemporary insights and discussions.

All classes are open to both men and ladies of all ages and include English
translation of all texts - so no Hebrew knowledge required!
For more information contact Rabbi Wollenberg
on 2048 3177