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 Friday, July 1st ~ KABBALAT SHABBAT
5:30 PM Drop In Choir
with Rabbi Cohen & Cantor Baruch
5:45 PM ONEG SHABBAT
provided by Marla Frank Davis
6:30 PM KABBALAT SHABBAT GARDEN SERVICE
with Rabbi Cohen & Cantor Baruch
Shabbat Candle lighting: Elaine Levine
IN PERSON ONLY
Saturday, July 2 ~ SHABBAT KORACH
10:30 AM - Shabbat Morning Prayer with Cantor Baruch
11:00 AM - Torah Study with Rabbi Cohen
IN PERSON and ONLINE
We're back with all services IN PERSON.
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וַתִּפְתַּ֤ח הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֶת־פִּ֔יהָ וַתִּבְלַ֥ע אֹתָ֖ם וְאֶת־בָּתֵּיהֶ֑ם וְאֵ֤ת כׇּל־הָאָדָם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לְקֹ֔רַח וְאֵ֖ת כׇּל־הָרְכֽוּשׁ
…and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up with their households, all Korach’s people and all their possessions.
-Numbers 16:32
In this week’s parshah, Moses’s cousin, Korach, leads a rebellion against him. According to the midrash (Midrash Rabbah 18:3), Korach was able to do so by calling Moses’ halakhic knowledge into doubt. One of Korach’s challenges was a question about mezuzot: “Is it necessary to place a mezuzah on the doorpost of a room filled with Torah scrolls?” Moses replied that those doors do require a mezuzah. But Korach argued: “If a whole Torah, which contains 275 parashiyot, cannot exempt a house, how is it possible that a small parchment, which contains only two parashiyot, exempts it? Your ruling does not make sense!” Using such logic, Korach was able to gather a large following.
Korach’s argument contains several errors in logic and halakhic disputation but is exactly the kind of argument that is so common in politics and social discourse today. It is not about discerning truth, but rather about appealing to the base who have already made up their mind, regardless of if whether their position makes any sense or not. It is not about truth but power. It is about defeating one’s opponent at all costs, irrespective of the truth. This is the straw-man fallacy: you exaggerate your opponent’s point of view, building a straw-man. Then you tear down the straw-man, as if you are destroying your opponent’s argument.
Every part of Korach’s arguments contained fallacies, but he made it sound good. This is why, eventually, his rebellion was a failure. Korach was arguing about what was inside: a room full of Torah scrolls. But Moses understood that a mezuzah was actually outside of the room. Korach was affirming that it is sufficient to be a good Jew on the “inside” without openly showing it on the “outside.” If your home is filled with Torah, Korach argued, that is sufficient. There is no need to demonstrate your Jewishness once you walk out the door. But for Moses, what matters most is how we manifest our Judaism outside. Even if a home or an individual is saturated with Torah, one must also manifest one’s Jewish convictions in public, to let the world know that this home, and this person, is Jewish.
The early founders of our Reform movement in Germany made the same error as Korach. They said: Yehudi beveitecha ve’adam betzeitecha - Be a Jew at home, and a human being outside the home. This is an issue that we struggle with still today, perhaps increasingly so. We are living in a time when there is a rise in incidents of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel rhetoric. The prevalence of hate and xenophobia right now is, indeed, scary, and deeply concerning. But we cannot allow irrational hate like Korach’s to deny who we are. We can’t control others, but we can control ourselves, and we need to do so as who we are: proud Jews, guided by thousands of years of tradition that demand we seek the truth and live our lives through our covenantal obligation to bring more peace, goodness, and holiness into the world. Others may not like it, but that is who we are and how we live, both inside and out.
L'Shalom,
Rabbi Jordan D. Cohen
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Our next HAVDALAH with FRIENDS will take place on Saturday night, July 9th, 7:30 PM -10:00 PM, at the home of Anna Rae Fishman & Gerry Fisher. RSVP for directions:
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IT'S OFFICIALLY FRIENDSHIP SUMMER!
Let's enjoy some backyard parties at our member's homes this summer! Join us on any of these upcoming Saturday nights:
July 9th, July 23rd, August 13th, September 3rd
Please choose at least ONE to come out to. We want to meet and mingle with our new and longstanding members. All you need is a portable lawn chair and a treat to share with others. We'll supply the beverages (BYO wine or beer if you wish!), great music and a brief Havdallah service! Hope to see all of our members there:)
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We are happy to announce that four lovely households have offered to form our ONEG TEAM. We're getting back to our beautiful Oneg Shabbat before services on Fridays! There is still a place for you to assist on our Oneg Shabbat team. It's a ONCE A MONTH commitment to shop, deliver, prepare and setup our spread of goodies and beverages that our congregation enjoys each Friday before our Kabbalat Shabbat service. There are so many ways to help your community at Anshe Sholom. Is this the one for your family?
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RENOVATE OUR TAS KITCHEN
IN MEMORY OF SEAN DAVIS ז"ל
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CLERGY LIASON WORKING GROUP
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The Clergy Liaison Working Group is again active and is now available to contact. In the interest of keeping our leadership up to date with the interests of our members, we are encouraging any and all feedback (held in the strictest confidence), that can be addressed by the Working Group. We will be communicating regularly with Rabbi Cohen and Cantor Baruch. We look forward to hearing from you.
Contact Richard Levy Chair at: clergyliaison@anshesholom.ca OR 905-528-0121 ext 25
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IN OUR TEMPLE FAMILY
- THANK YOU to Rob Murdoch for serving in the Tech Booth Friday night and for Michele Gunn for hosting our online congregation. Sound was back...thanks to our team!
- THANK YOU to Doreen Korman, Morley Weinberg, Kerop Sargysan, Kathryn Ferguson for assisting with our entry protocols
- THANK YOU to Eli Sniderman, Ethan Sniderman, Doug Collins for installing a very large heavy TV on a metal stand with wheels
- THANK YOU to Luba & Yves Apel, Misha, Nathan and Erika Apel for hosting our first HAVDALAH with FRIENDS. It was a perfect night!
IF YOU KNOW OF A MEMBER celebrating a milestone, please let us know! We'd love to celebrate them!
Birthdays - June 22nd to 28th
Temple Anshe Sholom wishes a very Happy Birthday to: Lori Lofchick, Martin Schwartz, Peter Gross, Rose Marie Egier, Josh Goodman-Berger, Michele Gunn, Shayla Berger, Sheila Burman, Sigal Balshine, Donna Stern
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TZEDAKAH
We are grateful for the following donations to Anshe Sholom
- RICHARD & RAQUEL EPAND for their donation to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund in memory of Philip Cohen
- PAULA BARUCH for her donation to the Deborah Sisterhood Flower Fund in memory of her mother, Audrey
- MARILYN FOREMAN for her donation to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund in memory of Philip Cohen
- ORA MARKSTEIN for her donation to the Deborah Sisterhood Flower Fund in memory of Francis Markstein
- MARIE MCKEARY for her donation to the Deborah Sisterhood Flower Fund in memory of John McKeary
- ROB & ARLIE SINGER for their donation to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund in memory of Philip Cohen
- TRUDY & DAVID SHORE for their donation to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund
- DOREEN KORMAN for her donations to the Breakfast Club in honour of Joy Wolfson and Irving Dain
- JAY & DIANA STATE for their donation to the State Fund in memory of Beverley Manishen
- MARLA FRANK-DAVIS & FAMILY for their donations to the President's Discretionary Fund in honour of Roy Pollington and Elaine Levine receiving the Shem Tov Award
- MARLA FRANK-DAVIS & FAMILY for their donation to the President's Discretionary Fund in honour of Lorraine Cohen receiving the Federation Presidents Award
- MARLA FRANK-DAVIS & FAMILY for their donation to the President's Discretionary Fund in honour of Anita Bernstein receiving her award for excellence in Jewish education
- LORRAINE COHEN for her donation to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund in memory of Philip Cohen
- SHLOMIT ACCIAROLI for her donation to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund in memory of Philip Cohen
- CAROL DAVIDS for her donation to the Rabbi’s Discretionary Fund in memory of Philip Cohen
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YIZKOR יזכור
SHELOSHIM:
Bella Kavalsky
Suzanne Szereszewski
YAHRZEIT:
Archie Levine
David Ackerman
Arthur Lesser
Irving Levy
Jerry Dolovich
Esther Siegel
Jessie McKeary
Lois Arnold
Lynn Pearlstein
Minna Loewith
Murray Handelman
Rose Zack
Ruth Fine
Samuel Berlin
Sean Davis
Serena Korman
Zaneta Glik
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