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This week's reading in the Torah describes the eternal binding covenant between God and the Jewish people. This covenant has played itself out over thousands of years of world history and remains valid and operative today as it did on the day that Moshe presented it to the Jewish people at the end of his life. The covenant is all-encompassing and applies to all who were members of the Jewish people. It states specifically that even the lowest and least educated classes of the Jewish people – those who chop the word and draw the water – are as important and included in the terms of the covenant as are the wisest and most intellectually gifted of the Jewish people.
This is a remarkable statement for human society, which, since its inception has always divided itself into classes according to talents, education, and financial status. These differences also existed within Jewish society, but the covenant is not affected by these societal norms and differences that every generation of Jewish people exhibited. The Torah does not present for us a utopian vision of a classless society, where equality exists amongst all members of a certain nation or group. Such an idea flies in the face of human nature and behavior. The Torah does inform us though, that there is an over arching covenant that binds all Jews, no matter their station in life and their experiences, and it is this covenant that is the basis of the relationship between the God of Israel and the people of Israel.
The Torah recognizes that life is not always fair to everyone. The distribution of talent, opportunities and wealth has always been unequal, and no economic theory or legislative program will ever change that reality. The Torah does not countenance playing the victim card as an excuse for one's failures and shortcomings. The prophet Jeremiah stated this succinctly when he said, “Why should a human being complain, is it not sufficient that it is yet alive?”.
Judaism measures people by their capacity to realize their potential. That is why the rabbis taught us that the righteous people are judged as finely as the breadth of a hair. The more righteous one is, the greater is the potential for performing acts of goodness. In effect, the Torah is teaching us that we are our own judges, each according to his/her abilities and opportunities. The question that will be asked of us is why we were not what we could have been, irrespective of the achievements and greatness we have achieved or compared to that of other human beings.
It is ironic that in world history the Jewish people could certainly be characterized as the victim and would be justified for not being a contributory force in the advancement of world civilization. But, even the most cursory view of world history shows that it was the Jewish people, more than anyone else, who drove forward the forces of civilization for the betterment of the human condition, physically and certainly spiritually.
Shabbat shalom
Rabbi Berel Wein
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SHABBAT & YOM TOV CALENDAR
Tishrei 5780
Friday, September 27, 27 Elul
Selichot: 6:10 am
Shacharit: 6:30 am
Mincha: 6:00 pm
Light Candles: 6:00 pm
Saturday, September 28, 28 Elul
Shacharit: 9:00 am
Mincha: 5:40 pm
Shabbat Ends: 6:54 pm
Sunday, September 29, 29 Elul
Erev Rosh HaShanah
Selichot & Shacharit: 8:00 am
Mincha: 5:55 pm
Light Candles: 5:57 pm
Monday, September 30,
1 Tishrei 5780
First Day of Rosh HaShanah
Shacharit: 8:30 am
Shofar: 10:45 am
Mincha: 5:40 pm
Tashlich: 6:05 pm
Ma’ariv: 6:15 pm
Light Candles: After 6:51 pm
Tuesday, October 1, 2 Tishrei
Second Day of Rosh HaShanah
Shacharit: 8:30 am
Shofar: 10:45 am
Mincha: 5:50 pm
Rosh HaShanah Ends: 6:49 pm
Wednesday, October 2, 3 Tishrei
Tzom Gedaliah
Fast Begins: 5:09 am
Selichot: 6:10 am
Shacharit: 6:30 am
Mincha (with Torah reading):
5:45 pm
Fast Ends: 6:39 pm
Thursday, October 3, 4 Tishrei
Shacharit: 6:30 am
Mincha/Ma’ariv: 5:50 pm
Friday, October 4, 5 Tishrei
Selichot: 6:10 am
Shacharit: 6:30 am
Mincha: 5:50 pm
Light Candles: 5:51 pm
Saturday, October 5, 6 Tishrei
Shabbat Shuvah
Shacharit: 9:00 am
Mincha: 5:35 pm
Shabbat Ends: 6:44 pm
Sunday, October 6, 7 Tishrei
Selichot & Shacharit: 8:00 am
Mincha/Ma’ariv: 5:50 pm
Monday, October 7, 8 Tishrei
Selichot: 6:10 am
Shacharit: 6:30 am
Mincha/Ma’ariv: 5:50 pm
Tuesday, October 8, 9 Tishrei
Erev Yom Kippur
Selichot: 6:15 am
Shacharit: 6:30 am
Mincha: 3:00 pm
Light Candles: 5:46 pm
Kol Nidre: 5:50 pm
Wednesday, October 9,
10 Tishrei
Yom Kippur
Shacharit: 8:30 am
Yizkor: 10:45 am
Mincha: 4:00 pm
Fast Ends: 6:40 pm
Thursday, October 10, 11 Tishrei
Shacharit: 6:30 am
Mincha/Ma’ariv: 5:45 pm
Friday, October 11, 12 Tishrei
Shacharit: 6:30 am
Mincha: 5:40 pm
Light Candles: 5:42 pm
Saturday, October 12, 13 Tishrei
Shacharit: 9:00 am
Mincha: 5:25 pm
Shabbat Ends: 6:35 pm
Sunday, October 13, 14 Tishrei
Erev Sukkot
Shacharit: 8:00 am
Mincha: 5:40 pm
Light Candles: 5:39 pm
Monday, October 14, 15 Tishrei
First Day of Sukkot
Shacharit: 9:00 am
Mincha: 5:35 pm
Light Candles: After 6:33 pm
Tuesday, October 15, 16 Tishrei
Second Day of Sukkot
Shacharit: 9:00 am
Mincha: 5:35 pm
Yom Tov Ends: 5:55 pm
Wednesday, October 16, 17 Tishrei
First Day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot
Shacharit: 6:15 am
Mincha/Ma’ariv: 5:35 pm
Thursday, October 17, 18 Tishrei
Second Day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot
Shacharit: 6:15 am
Mincha/Ma’ariv: 5:35 pm
Friday, October 18, 19 Tishrei
Third Day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot
Shacharit: 6:15 am
Mincha: 5:35 pm
Light Candles: 5:33 pm
Saturday, October 19, 20 Tishrei
Fourth Day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot
Shacharit: 9:00 am
Mincha: 5:15 pm
Shabbat Ends: 6:27 pm
Sunday, October 20, 21 Tishrei
Hoshanah Rabbah
Shacharit: 8:00 am
Mincha: 5:30 pm
Light Candles: 5:31 pm
Monday, October 21, 22 Tishrei
Shemini Atzeret
Shacharit: 9:00 am
Yizkor: 10:30 am
Mincha: 5:25 pm
Light Candles: After 6:25 pm
Ma’ariv & Hakafot: 6:30 pm
Tuesday, October 22, 23 Tishrei
Simchat Torah
Shacharit: 9:00 am
Hakafot: 10:00 am
Musaf, followed by Mincha:
1:00 pm
Ma’ariv & Simchat Torah Ends: 6:30 pm
Wednesday-Thursday, October 23-24, 24-25 Tishrei
Shacharit: 6:30 am
Mincha/Ma’ariv: 5:30 pm
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ALTERNATE WAYS OF JOINING, RENEWING, BUYING TICKETS, and PLACING A MEMORIAL AD.
Dear Friends and Members of Young Israel of Phoenix:
Time is passing quickly as our High Holy Days approach. We would like you to consider alternative ways of joining our shul or renewing your membership.
For those of you who do not particularly enjoy working at a computer, Young Israel has forms that can be filled out manually and either snail-mailed or scanned & emailed to our offices.
If you’d like to use our 2-page form to join or renew your membership, please call Young Israel (602-265-8888), and be sure to leave a message that includes your email address or your street address.
For High Holiday tickets, please follow the same instructions as for membership. Your message will be forwarded to our Treasurer, Nechama Poor. Tickets are free for members and $100 for non-members. No one will be turned away for inability to pay.
For those of you who want to place a memorial ad in our annual Yizkor Book, please call Young Israel (602-265-8888) and leave a message that includes your phone number. Maxine Blecher will return your call to take the information you want to include in your Yizkor ad. If you have not previously seen our Yizkor Book, please watch for the Yizkor Book notice in your email, (or scroll down) which will show a sample of a typical memorial ad.
Please accept our very best wishes for a happy, healthy, sweet, and successful 5780.
YOUNG ISRAEL OF PHOENIX
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PURCHASE OR REQUEST
TICKETS FOR ROSH
HASHANAH AND/OR
YOM KIPPUR
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YIZKOR BOOK
MEMORIAL ADS
Tradition holds that Jewish holidays call for us to remember those loved ones who have passed away. It is this remembrance, through Tefilos (prayers) and pledging Tzedakah, that we are able to bring merit to their Neshamos (souls). These Tefilos and Tzedakah allow the memory of our loved ones to grow, for it is their memory that has inspired us to perform these Mitzvos.
There are four Yizkor dates each year, starting with Yom Kippur. Preparations have begun for the printing of our 5780 Yizkor Book, which will help us perform this mitzvah. The proper way of performing this mitzvah is by making a monetary pledge after each Yizkor date has passed.
Please fill out the enclosed Yizkor Book form and return it to the Shul office by no later than Friday, October 4.
Apart from the Yizkor Book, we ask members to provide the Shul with information about the names and Yahrzeit dates of your departed relatives so that we can send out reminder letters to you in advance of each such Yahrzeit date. We are taking this opportunity to verify and update our database of Yahrzeit dates. Even if you will not be participating in the Yizkor Book this year, please fill in the names and dates (i.e., the Jewish month and day, or the secular calendar date and time of death) for which you would like to be reminded, and return the enclosed form to the Shul office.
Sincerely,
The Yizkor Committee
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