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Candle Lighting
5:54p
Mincha
6:00p
Torah Reading
Pg.54
Haftorah
Pg.1133
Candle Lighting 11/3
5:45p
Parshas Lech Lecha 7 Cheshvan | October 27, 2017
SHABBOS SCHEDULE Shabbos Night 5:54p Candle-Lighting 6:00pm Mincha 6:10pm Kabbolas Shabbos 7:00pm Shabbos Project Dinner Shabbos Day 8:15a Daf Yomi 8:35a Chassidus on the Parsha 9:00a Shacharis (10:07a KS) 5:05p Pathways of the Prophets: Insights into Neviim 5:45p Mincha 6:53p Havdalah
WEEKLY SCHEDULE Sunday 10/29 – 9th of Cheshvan 7:15a Shacharis 8:00a Daf Yomi 8:00a,9:00a Shacharis (10:11a KS) 5:55p Mincha/Maariv
Monday 10/30 - Thursday 11/2 10th - 13th of Cheshvan 5:45a Shiur (Gan HaEmunah) 5:55a Daf Yomi 6:45a, 9:00a Shacharis 5:55p Mincha/Maariv 8:30 - 10:15p IJC Night Kollel* 9:20p Maariv *8:30 - 9:15p Mon Kol Hanearim
In this week’s Parsha, we read of the first of
Avraham’s ten tests. Each test enabled
Avraham to actualize his potential and
groomed him to be the father of our great
nation. We would all agree that moving can
be a hassle and, in certain situations, a bit
traumatic. But what was so difficult about
this Lech Lecha command? As challenging as
it may have been to leave his home and
travel to a distant unknown land, God
promised Avraham that he would be
successful in every way. How is it a test if
God assures success?
Rav Yosef Dov HaLevi Soloveitchik zt’l
provides a fascinating insight. The Rav
points out that later in the Parsha, Avraham
is told, “But you will come to your forefathers in
peace; you will be buried in a good old age
(Genesis 15:15).” The commentaries are
puzzled – Why would God tell Avraham that
he would be joining his father, a known
idolater, in the afterlife?
Avraham and Terach, father and son, were
locked in fierce religious debate. Avraham
was a monotheist and his father a staunch
idolater. Avraham tried to teach his father
about God; he tried to show Terach the folly
and emptiness of his idolatrous ways. Terach
felt so betrayed by his son that he handed
Avraham over to the authorities to be
executed for “heresy.” Through miraculous
intervention, Avraham survived (Midrash
Rabba Noach 38:13). Could it be that Terach
had a place in the World to Come? Could it be
that Avraham was to spend eternity
alongside the man who had ordered his
execution? Rashi explains, “This teaches us
that Terach repented.”
The Rav explains: “Terach so hated Abraham
that he denounced him and colluded to have him
executed. Later – I don’t know how long it took
– the same Terach saw the light and realized
Avraham was right and society wrong, that his
past was wrong, that a life dedicated to
paganism and idolatry, to a cruel philosophy, to
ideals in conflict with the basic principles of
decency, was a waste. There was a tremendous
change in Terach…When the command of Lech
Lecha came and Abraham began to pack his
bags, he realized to his great surprise that his
father’s bags had already been packed long
before. Father and son, hitherto locked in mortal
combat, joined hands and together started out on
the great march to Canaan...(Abraham’s
Journey, 54).”
After years of conflict, disagreement, and
animosity, father and son finally had a
chance to build a meaningful and enduring
relationship. For so many years, Avraham
was an orphan even though his father was
alive. Finally, father and son experience
theological and spiritual reconciliation and
have a chance to build a relationship. Herein
lies the true test of Lech Lecha. At the very
moment when Avraham and Terach
established this common ground with one
another, God called out to Avraham, Lech
Lecha, go forth, you must leave.
For Avraham to self-actualize and become
the man he was destined to become, he had to
leave his father and leave behind any and
every vestige of his past. Lech Lecha, you
must go to yourself, by yourself. You must
venture out on your own, separate and
distinct from all you have known until now.
To remain connected to the circumstances of
your birth and childhood will handicap and
prevent you, Avram, from becoming
Avraham. The test of Lech Lecha was not one
of relocation; it was a test of estrangement
after finally achieving reconciliation.
Avraham needed to separate himself from his
past life in order to embrace his destiny.
The theme of the Book of Bereishis is
maaseh avos siman la’banim, that which
occurred to the fathers is a symbolic
foreshadow for the children. The experiences
of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs pave the
way and set the stage for our life challenges
and in reality represent the challenges
inherent in the human condition.
Continued on next page >>
LETTING GO, MOVING ON | RABBI SHMUEL SILBER
“And the Lord said to Abram, "Go forth (Lech Lecha) from your land and from your birth
place and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you (Genesis 12:1).”
Tuesday 10/31 | 7:30p Sisterhood Pottery Paint Night Amazing Glaze Gather with your SOTS sisters, bring a friend and make a new one. Build connections that build kehillah! suburbanorthodox.org/event/sisterhood
2
MEMBER NEWS
MAZAL TOVS
Rena Rotenberg on the birth of a great-grandson, Aharon Rotenberg. Mazal Tov to the parents Yael & Avraham Rotenberg and the great aunt and uncle, Rachel & Seth Rotenberg Faigie and Mordecai Filler on the birth of a granddaughter, Sara Livia, to Chana & Ariel Schachter Grandparents Judah & Judy Minkove on the birth of twin grandchildren (boy and girl) to parents Sam & Nikki Minkove Rob & Lisa Ziv on the Bas Mitzvah of their daughter, Allison Josh & Terri Rosen on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Jonathan Louis Caplan on completion of the Marine Corps Marathon
BIRTHDAYS Malka Edinger, Chaim Rotenberg, Oren Hizkiya, David Kozlovsky, Louis Rosen, Bernhard Kiewe, Meira Sara Einbinder, Stephanie Gold, Netanya Menucha Siegel, Daniel Siegel, Elizabeth Appelbaum, Malka Narges - Ghoulian Belzer, Devorah VanNess, Rob Ziv, Josh Friedman
YAHRZEITS Reuben Abzug, Samuel H. Willner, Zeev Bar-av, Leon Morrison, Moses Bulua, Irving Cohen, Nathan Holzman, Aron Davidovich, Shirley Turniansky, Chava Balbos, Arnold Feigelman, Elsa Lowenstein Gold, Claryne Weinberg, Edith Siegel, Gertrude Kramer Polokof, Bebe Levin, Janette Brenner, Baruch Kozlovsky, Chaya Leah Kozlovsky, Chaim Yosef Kozlovsky, Susan Glasser, Rev. Solomon Ruback, Lawrence Cane
TEHILLIM Please continue to daven for Tinok ben Avital.
To make a donation in memory of a loved one, or in celebration of a simcha: suburbanorthodox.org/payment.php
SPONSORSHIPS
DONATIONS Arlette Myriam Jacobson, Joseph & Hinda Davis, Naftali & Baila Langer, Sheldon & Francine Rosen, Alan & Candy Lowe
DAF YOMI Saeed Haken for a Refuah Sheleima for Sima Bas Miriam following her surgery
SHABBAT PROJECT
Mitch & Janice Posner, Mel & Judy Pachino, Dr. Neil & Pam Weissman, Heshy & Sandy Schoenfeld, Ben Hoffman, Rabbi Shmuel & Aviva Silber
SHABBOS MORNING DRASHA Faigie and Mordecai Filler in honor of the birth of their granddaughter, Sara Livia
For Aliyah requests, please contact Chaim Nachman at [email protected] or text 443-857-1660
DVAR TORAH CONT.
Avraham’s first test was to muster the
strength to let go and detach from the things
that would hold him back. This came with
great personal pain as it meant not just
leaving behind a parent, but leaving behind a
father whom he was just getting to know.
We each have things that hold us back and
keep us tethered to our present reality.
Sometimes it is an unhealthy relationship, a
negative habit, a destructive behavior, hurt
feelings or a grudge so old we’ve forgotten
what it’s about. If we want a chance to make
it to our personal promised land, if we want to
become the people we know deep down we are
capable of becoming, we too must engage in
the process of Lech Lecha and learn to detach,
move on and let go.
Newly posted shiurim online and on
Podcast www.rabbisilber.org
COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS
15th Annual Worldwide Event for the Yarzeit of Rachel Imeinu Mon 10/30 | 8:30p Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion "We're on the way home: Paving the way for Geula by Sharing" - 1 hour video featur-ing Rabbi Paysach Krohn, Rabbi Jonathan Rietti, and Rebbitzen Tehila Jaeger (for women and girls only). Bonei Olam Baltimore Benefit featuring
Rabbi Shmuel Silber
Sun 11/5 | 7:30p at the Home of
Ben & Allison Strauss; 2306 Gerard Ct.
Join us in support of a great cause; light
dinner and wine pairing, meaningful video.
KIDDUSH SPONSORSHIP
Simcha Kiddush sponsored by Josh & Terri Rosen in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of
their son, Jonathan
SHALOSH SEUDOS SPONSORSHIP
Rabbi Pesach Raczkowski in honor of the Yahrtzeit of his mother
Drs. Paul & Linda Weinberg in honor of the Yahrtzeit of Paul’s mother,
Chaya Leah Bat Yoseph
UPCOMING SHUL
PROGRAMS
10/31 Sisterhood Pottery Paint Night
11/11 Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, PhD
Scholar in Residence
Nov IJC Chinuch Series
Dec IJC Marriage Series
12/9 New Members Melava Malka
12/14 Family Chanukah Party
Updated events calendar at
suburbanorthodox.org