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Candle Lighting

5:01p

Mincha

5:05p

Torah Reading

Pg.

Haftorah

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Candle Lighting 2/1

5:09p

Parshas Yisro 20 Shevat | January 26, 2019

SHABBOS SCHEDULE Shabbos Night

5:01p Candle Lighting 5:05p Mincha followed by Kabbolas Shabbos

Shabbos Day 8:05a Daf Yomi 8:35a Chassidus on the Parsha (Rabbi Richter) 9:00a Shacharis (9:49a KS) 11:30a Kehillah Kiddush 4:55p Mincha followed by Shalosh Seudos. 6:03p Maariv followed by Havdalah 7:05p Motzei Shabbos Learning

WEEKLY SCHEDULE

Sun 1/27– 21st of Shevat 7:15, 8:00, 9:00a Shacharis

5:15p Mincha/Maariv

Mon - Fri a.m. 6:45, 9:00a Shacharis 5:15p Mincha/Maariv

“Now Moses' father in law, Jethro, the chieftain of Midian, heard all that God had done for Moses and for Israel, His people that the Lord had taken Israel out of Egypt.” (Shemos 18:1) What motived Yisro to leave his life of comfort and prominence in Midyan, journey to the

middle of the desert and join the fledgling Jewish nation? What moved Yisro to give up the

priesthood of Midyan with its fame and fortune and embrace the God of Israel? The Talmud

quotes various opinions. Some explain that he heard about the miraculous splitting of the

Red Sea, others explain he heard of the exceptional Jewish bravery in the battle against

Amaleyk and still others maintain it was the awesome glory of Sinaitic revelation that

caused Yisro to travel from Midyan to the Jewish encampment. Whatever the reason, Yisro

felt a burning desire to connect and be part of the Jewish people. Yet, only a few verses later

the Torah states, “Moses saw his father in law off, and he went away to his land.” (Shemos 18:27) The Torah in Bamidbar tells us that Yisro said to Moshe, “... I will travel back to my home and to my birthplace.” (Bamidbar 10:30) Why did Yisro leave? Why did Yisro choose

to return home after he had sacrificed so much to join the Jewish people?

When Menachem Mendel from the city of Kotzk was a young boy, he was convinced by an

acquaintance to spend some time learning by the great Chassidic master, the Chozeh (Seer)

of Lublin (Rav Yaakov Yitzchak Horowitz, 1745-1815). After a few months away from

home, Menachem Mendel’s father, upset that his son had chosen to follow in the ways of

Chassidus (Menachem Mendel’s family were “misnagdim,” those opposed to the Chassidic

movement), decided to travel to Lublin to persuade his young son to return home. When he

found his son in the home of the Chozeh, he said, “Menachem Mendel, this is not the way I

raised you, this is not the tradition of your forefathers, I beg of you, return with me and

embrace the path of service of your ancestors.” Menachem Mendel replied quoting a verse

from the Shira (song) in last week’s Parsha, “....this is my God (Zeh Keyli), and I will make Him great, the God of my father (Elokay Avi), and I will ascribe to Him exaltation.” (Shemos 15:2) “Father, I fully embrace all you have taught and conveyed to me,

I fully accept the ideas and ideals you have imprinted on my soul. But it is not enough for

me to live with “your God,” I must find “my God.” You have given me Elokay Avi, the God

of my father, now I must find and cultivate a relationship with Zeh Keyli, my personal

God.” Young Menachem Mendel grew up to become the famed Chassidic luminary, Rav

Menachem Mendel of Kotzk (1787-1859).

The Kotzker teaches us a profound idea. There are two components in man’s relationship

with God:

Elokai Avi, the God of my father - each of us inherits a spiritual legacy from the

generations that preceded us. I learn the spiritual ideals and outlooks of my parents. I accept

their values and appreciate their philosophy and theology.

Zeh Keyli, this is my God - but I must also strive to forge my own personal and special

bond with God. I must discover, “My God,” I must uncover what makes me unique and use

it to build a bond between myself and my Father above.

Perhaps this is why Yisro went back to Midyan. When Yisro camped with the Jewish

people, the text refers to him as “Chosein Moshe, (the father in law of Moshe)” - his

individual identity eclipsed by his relationship to the Prophet of Israel. Although it was a

great honor to be identified as Moshe’s father-in-law, Yisro felt that he had personal

contributions to make. He journeyed to the Jewish people to learn and understand God and

His Torah. He journeyed to the Jewish people to establish a spiritual foundation. Once this

foundation was solidified, Yisro knew he had to build his individual bond with the Almighty.

This individuality was to be expressed in his ability to influence his family, friends and

community back in Midyan. It would have been easy to remain with the Jewish people and

bask in the perpetual holiness and revelation. But he knew he had the potential to influence

and help shape the theological and spiritual thinking of others. He had to go back to

Midyan. He came to the desert to find Elokai Avi and now it was his mission to find his Zeh Keyli; his personal God.

Continued on back>

INDIVIDUALIZED HOLINESS

RABBI SHMUEL SILBER

WEEKLY SHIURIM

by Rabbi Silber

Sun

8:00a Daf Yomi

Mon - Fri

5:55a Daf Yomi

Following 9am minyan 15 Minutes of

Mishnayos (Rabbi Richter)

Mon

8:30p Shulchan Aruch Chaburah

(recorded)

Tues

8:30p Hilchos Shabbos B’Iyun

(Rabbi Richter)

Perek Shira resumes 2/6

SECURITY TRAINING: LAST CHANCE TO REGISTER

Three hour tactical training given by Tzviel "BK" Blankenshtein of Masada

Tactical. Register with mikeisadiamond@gmail.com.

Takes place this Sunday, 1/27 at 9am in the Beis Midrash.

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MEMBER NEWS

MAZAL TOV Zack and Kori Pomerantz on the

bris of their son, Dov Yitzchak

BIRTHDAYS Tara Cornberg, Atara Shulamit Friedman, Zach Gardyn, Barbara Kadin, Shayna Lerner, Nachum Levine, Batsheva Messing, Alexandra Polirer, Anna Ponczak, Avigayil Reidy, Elan Rotenberg, Chavie Rothschild, Aviva Rubin, Etiel Mordechai Weinberg, Moshe Wildman Happy birthday to a good friend of the shul, Iris Littman

YAHRZEITS Anita Auerhan, Jacob Brem, Ellen Sheila Wiss, Wendy Fine, Israel Jacob Hertzberg, Rose Kozlovsky, Henry Lehmann, Rabbi Levi Ness, Henrietta Cousin, Katarina Samuel, Benjamin Shapiro, Nathan Woolf

SHUL HAPPENINGS

Taharas Hamishpacha Refresher Mon-Tues 1/28-29 | 8:00p, SOTC

Presented by Rebbetzein Aviva Silber, for women. RSVP required

End of Life Care feat. Rabbi Daniel Rose

Sun 2/10 | 10:00a, SOTC

suburbanorthodox.org/event/endcare

Guys Night Out with the Rav

Tues 2/12 | 8:00p, AMF Bowling

Shiur followed by friendly competition

For men. RSVP required

SOTC Book Club Tues 3/12 | 2:00p, SOTC Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS

Harmony at Home: Promoting Better Behavior and Self Control Tues 2/5 | 7:30p, Beth Tfiloh School Featuring Dr. Russell Barkley, Ph.D. Ju shemeshparentlecture.eventbrite.com

SPONSORSHIPS

KEHILLAH KIDDUSH Friends of Bennett Goldberg in

honor of his birthday

SHALOSH SEUDOS By the Hamburger family with gratitude for the all the members who help Daniel

Isaac Samuel in memory of Katarina Samuel, Rifka bas Yosef z'l

DONATIONS Ken & Eileen Creeger, Elliot Brum

Mayer & Brenda Katz in memory of Brenda’s brother, Israel Jacob Herzberg, Yisroel Yaakov ben Yitzchak z’l

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

MEET BENNETT GOLDBERG

Bennett Goldberg has been a long time member of Suburban Orthodox, and even had his Bar Mitzvah here! With quiet dedication, he has served on various shul committees and the Board. He has always deeply cared for the shul. For example, Bennett provides new copies of the large print siddur for the Baal Tefillah and arranged for the polishing of the Torah's crowns.

Bennett worked in sales for many years, is a lover of animals and a loyal Ravens fan.

We are so grateful to have Bennett as part of our shul family. Join us in wishing him a happy birthday!

DVAR TORAH CONT.

We each possess collective and individual identities. Our collective identity is forged

by the generations who came before us. This identity is solidified through the lessons of our

parents and their parents before them. But collective, historical identity is not enough. We

must strive to create our own unique relationships and personal connections to God. We must

try to find our individual strengths, talents and abilities and use them in the service of God.

We may observe the same mitzvos, recite the same prayers and share common practices but

we are individualistically unique when it comes to our relationship with God. We each

nurture our Elokay Avi and celebrate our Zeh Keyli.

Newly posted shiurim online and on Podcast www.rabbisilber.com