VIRTUAL COMMUNITY SHUL SCHEDULE TCS ZOOM ID: 6136132436 (ANY
CLASSES WITH ALTERNATE ZOOM IDS
ARE LISTED IN PARANTHESIS BELOW) USE PASSWORD: 339749 All
classes will still be given through zoom, unless noted
otherwise.
Friday, 9th Oct – Shemini Atzeres—All services held outside
Candle Lighting - 6:07 pm Mincha / Kabbolas Shabbos / Maariv - 6:12
pm Shema - 7:05 pm (earliest time) Saturday, 10th Oct – Shemini
Atzeres—All services held outside Shachris - 8:30 am Krias shema -
9:47 am (latest time) Hallel - 9:30 am Krias HaTorah - 9:45 am
Yizkor - 10:00 am approx - R' Cohen Musaf - 10:30 am Tefillas
Geshem Seudat Shishit - eat at home with intent to continue seudah
in shul Koheles - 5:30 pm - Gavriel Cohen Mincha - 6:00 pm Auction
- 6:30 pm Bentching - 7:00 pm. Maariv to follow Hadlak/Hakofos -
7:15 pm Sunday, 11th Oct – Simchas Torah—All services held outside
Shachris - 8:30 am Krias shema - 9:47 am (latest time) Hallel -
9:15 am Kiddush - 9:30 am Auction - 9:45 pm Hakofos - 10:30 am
Musaf - 11:30 am Liane's Dvar for Women - 5:00 pm in the back of
the shul sukkah Mincha - 6:15 pm Maariv - 7:05 (followed by
Havdala) MONDAY—THURSDAY: - 6:00 AM: SHACHRIS OUTSIDE TCS AND ZOOM
- 7:30 AM: SHACHRIS OUTSIDE TCS AND ZOOM - 6:05 PM: MINCHA/MAARIV
OUTSIDE TCS AND ZOOM - 9:00 PM: MAARIV (ONLY!) OUTSIDE TCS MON–WED:
- 5:00 – 5:30 PM: NAVI SHMUEL (ZOOM)—ELCHONON COHEN (ZOOM ID:
8459893471) WED: - 7:30 PM: ‘SEASONS OF JOY’ (ZOOM
ID:71646005392)—SAM GLASER THURS: - 12:00 PM: PIRKEI AVOS—HOWARD
WITKIN (ZOOM ID: 4288024739) - 6:00 PM: MESILLAS YESHARIM
(ZOOM)--MICHAEL ABRAMSON FRIDAY: - 6:00 PM: CANDLE-LIGHTING
(Bereshis) - 6:05 PM: MINCHA - 6:50 PM: KRIAS SHEMA (EARLIEST
TIME)
The Community Shul
9100 West Pico Boulevard
[email protected]—424.666.2326
[email protected]—424.354.4130
thecommunityshul.com
Rabbi Moshe Cohen Community Rabbi
Miryum Schoen Community Director
Justin Levi President Jonah Light Vice President
Adam Karesky Gabbai Ilana Tatarsky Shabbos Engagement
Coordinator
[email protected]
Education Team Michael Abramson Avraham Gordon
Ben Elterman
Women’s Programming Rebecca Levi
Cookie Richards Yehudit Garmaise
Beth Firestone Rbtzn Yehudit Cohen
TCS “Boomers” Chair
Joanie Ziff
TCS’s Young Community Ariella Beyzer
Chessed Team
Lilian Russak Evey Leibow
Men‘s Club
Joshua Shapiro
The Boxenbaum Family Outreach Center A place where people grow
by living meaningful Torah lives.
ON HIATUS
Shmini Atzeres
Candlelighting: 6:07 PM
October 9, 2020 — 21 Tishrei 5780
Short Vort – Toras Chaim
On the horns of a dilemma
In Devarim 33:17 Moshe likens the tribe of Yosef to an ordinary
ox with the horns of
a “re’im” (a wild ox) Rashi explains that an ox has great
physical might, but its horns are
unseemly, whereas a re’im has beautiful majestic horns, but
lacks physical strength. In
this blessing, Moshe speaks of his successor, Yehoshua, a
descendant of Yosef, who
would feature great physical might, leading the people to
victory over the nations of
Canaan, but also beauty and splendor, like a re’im. Perhaps
Moshe was referring to the
moral “beauty” that must accompany military campaigns. Normally,
when fighting like
an “ox,” with fierce determination and an unrelenting desire to
triumph over the enemy,
the army is cruel and heartless. The blessing to Yehoshua was
that in leading the Jewish
people in battle against the peoples of Canaan, he would be both
powerful and beauti-
ful, ensuring victory without compromising the standard of
morals, dignity and refine-
ment which Torah values demand.
Life’s lesson: we cannot compromise our ethics or our
dignity
(W)holly dedicated
Devarim 34:6 tells us that Moshe was buried “opposite
Pe’or.”
In Sota 14a Rashi explains that Moshe was buried at that site to
atone for the sin
of Ba’al Peor when the Jewish people engaged in relations with
the women of Moav and
worshipped that nation’s deity, Pe’or. The Torah of Moshe stands
in eternal opposition
to the culture and ideology of Pe’or, a deity which was
worshipped by defecating on the
idol. This mode of worship reflected the belief that nature
needs no refining, that people
should be allowed to follow their base instincts without any
restraint. The sin of Ba’al
Peor involved public defecation and unrestrained promiscuity
because this is precisely
what the adherents of this belief advocated – the worship of
natural instinct, and a re-
jection of the need for refinement and discipline. Moshe was
buried opposite the site of
Pe’or as an eternal reminder of our firm opposition to this
ideology, of our belief in the
Torah which seeks to elevate us by regulating our behavior and
channeling our instincts
and drives towards the service of the Creator.
Life’s lesson: a religious lifestyle demands we live in a manner
which brings glory
to God at every moment.
Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Cohen
SPONSORSHIPS KIDDUSH:
We are still looking for a sponsor for Kiddush this week. To
spon-
sor, please contact the office after Shabbos.
SEUDAH SHLISHIS:
We are still looking for a sponsor for Seudah Shlishis this
week. To
sponsor, please contact the office after Shabbos.
LEARNING:
We are still looking for a sponsor for Learning this week. To
spon-
sor, please contact the office after Shabbos.
SECURITY:
The Tatarsky Family, together with Nathan’s mother, Sara,
are
sponsoring security this week in memory of Nathan’s maternal
grandmother, Fanny bat Sara, of blessed memory. May her
Nesha-
ma have an Aliyah!
THANK YOU - Thank you to the Amster Family for providing us with
Ara-vos for Hoshana Rabbah!
- Thank you to the Milky Way, Miryum Schoen, and all of the
couples who signed up for date night in the sukkah—it was terrific!
We can’t wait for next time.
- Howard and Marni Witkin for generously donating some of their
incredible liquors and whisky—Etrog, Cali, Besamim, and
Maverick!
- Sreli and Menucha Stern and Yehuda and Miryum Schoen for
sponsoring this year’s Simchas Torah booze!
Dear Community Shul member,
It was a truly uplifting experience to be able to see and greet
so many of you on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. In these most
challenging of times, it was nothing short of a miraculous blessing
to be able to share these special holidays with you as a community,
as nearly 200 people davened Neilah in our beautifully
decorated
succahs. Now we are on the cusp of Succos and Simchas Torah.
As most of you know, Simchas Torah is not just our most
“elevating” and joyous yom tov, but it is also our major
fundraising event of the year. It covers 25% of
our annual budget. This year, more than ever, we are dependent
on each of us to be as generous as possible for the community shul.
We are still working out the details of the program, but whether
you plan to attend or even if you are unable to be there in person,
we need you to help us reach our target. I am including an article
that David Suissa wrote this week outlining the seriousness of the
situation
that all shuls are facing in the upcoming year.
Chag Sameach Moshe Cohen
—————————————————————————- An Emergency Message to Wealthy
Donors: Please Give More to Your Syna-gogues this Year—a Lot More.
By David Suissa, Jewish Journal, September 29,
2020
In recent days, I’ve been hearing the same message over and over
again: Syna-gogues of all denominations are really hurting. In this
horrible year of the pan-demic, many members have decided not to
renew their memberships, or have
lowered their contributions, or have simply decided to stop
giving. For those who have been hurt financially, I can understand
the reluctance to give in a year when all synagogues have been
forced to close because of COVID-19. To that group, I
just say: Give whatever you can, as little as you can, but just
give something.
To wealthy donors who can afford more, I ask: Please go crazy.
Please ask your synagogue leaders what they need and give it to
them. Why go crazy? Because this is a crazy year. Because our
spiritual leaders did not cause the coronavirus. Because if our
synagogue communities are going to survive, we have no
choice but to step up in a big way.
Our backs are against the wall. If there ever was a time when
“Jews are responsible for one another” comes into play, it is now.
It is this year. It is this moment. I wrote about this a few weeks
ago, asking Jews who could afford it to “double down” on
their giving this year. Now I’m doubling down on my message.
We’ve heard the appeals during the High Holy Days. Some of them
were not spe-cific enough, which is why I’m writing again. I want
to make it clear that it is Jews of “high capacity” (as we call
wealthy Jews in fundraising circles) who must rise to
the occasion above all others.
All the traditional giving strategies—matching funds, naming
opportunities, and so on—must go out the window. These are not
normal times. A catastrophe has hit the American Jewish community:
Our places of worship (like all other buildings)
have become danger zones. This is unthinkable. It is
unimaginable.
Please don’t be fooled by the positive spirit our rabbis have
been exhibiting during these Holy Days. They’re doing their jobs.
They’re here to inspire us, strengthen us,
empower us.
Now we must do our job. Remember all those times our rabbis have
come to our rescue? Remember the shivahs, the brit milahs, the
weddings, the b’nei mitzvahs,
the calls to the sick, and on and on? They were always there to
comfort us, to nourish us, to support us. Now it’s our turn to come
to the rescue, especially the
fortunate ones who have the means.
We’re in the midst of a communal crisis. This calls for
emergency measures. So I ask you, wealthy donors, to please open
your hearts and check books like you’ve never opened them before.
You have the chance to save our communities. Call
your rabbis now and ask them how much they need.
I guarantee you this will be good for the Jews.
THE COMMUNITY SHUL SUKKAH WILL BE OPEN FOR ALL THROUGH SUK-
KOS FOR ANYONE WHO WISHES TO USE IT, PLEASE ENTER THROUGH
THE BACK ALLEY, NOT ON DOHENY.
