y‰xa, rst t‰h - vum, ,arp ,ca – 7th March 2009
the competition kept his interest piqued. “We would like to demonstrate it to you in person.” After a little cajoling, they brought Mr. Ford outside and asked him to enter a black Edsel that was
rufz ,arp
parked in front of the building. Norman Greenberg, the middle brother, opened the door of the car.
A reminder to all that we lein rufz ,arp this Shabbos. At Shacharis
we will reach rufz ,arp by approximately 10.15am.
“What!” shouted the tycoon, “are you crazy? It must be two hundred
There will be a second leining of rufz ,arp at 2.00pm after the first
“It is,” smiled the youngest brother, Max, “but sit down, Mr. Ford, and push the white button.”
Intrigued, Ford pushed the button. All of a sudden a whoosh of
Please see the back page for the Purim timetable.
freezing air started blowing from vents all around the car, and within
vkhdn For Ladies
seconds the automobile was not only comfortable, it was quite cool! “This is amazing!” exclaimed Ford. “How much do you want for the
There will be a second leining of the vkhdn on Monday night at
8.45pm in the Shul and on Tuesday morning at approximately
Norman spoke up. “The price is one million dollars.” Then he paused,
9.10am (following the second minyan) in Shul.
“And there is something else. We want the name ‘Greenberg Brothers
ohbuhctk ,ub,n
Air Conditioning’ to be stamped right next to the Ford logo.”
“Money is no problem,” retorted Ford, “but no way will I have a ‘Jew-
Anyone wishing to give ohbuhctk ,ub,n through the Shul can do so by
delivering donations to the Rov who will arrange for the money to
They haggled back and forth for a while and finally they settled. One
be distributed on Purim, either to needy families locally, or to families
and one half million dollars, and the name Greenberg would be left
off. However, the first names of the Greenberg brothers would be forever emblazoned upon the console of every Ford air conditioning
ehsmv hfsrn ,chah
In an ironic twist, most people do not study Torah on Purim - there’s
And that is why today, whenever you enter a Ford vehicle you will see those three names clearly defined on the air-conditioning control
too much going on! But the truth is that in the Purim story, Mordechai
gathered Jewish children to study Torah and that’s what averted the
The writers of the Megilah left us with a message that would accompany
us throughout our long exile. You will not always see G-d’s signature
We are delighted to announce that this year the shul is joining the
openly emblazoned upon every circumstance. However, throughout
world-wide ehsmv hfsrn ,chah programme, an extension of Ovos
persecution and deliverance, He is always there. And just like on Purim His
uVonim, on Purim for one hour before Mincha from 3.00pm –
4.00pm. There will be a souvenir for all boys attending, don’t miss it.
vum, ,arp ,ca rufz ,arp
Hear Conditioning Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky
Whoever misses the Divine hand that touched the Purim story is not looking.
And if he claims that he heard the Megilah, he probably was not listening.
Imagine, the Prime Minister draws lots and decides to annihilate the entire
Jewish nation. Within 24 hours he has approval from the ruler of the not-so-
Second Leining of rufz ,arp
Within days, the plot is foiled, the Prime Minister is hanged and his prime target is promoted to replace him! Pretty political. Pretty miraculous. And definitely
divine. Yet Hashem’s name is not mentioned once in the Megilah. Why? Of
course, the Megilah is replete with allusions. There are acronyms that spell the
name of Hashem, and our sages explain that every time the word “King” is
mentioned in the Megilah, it has a divine reference. But, still, why does the last
book of the Prophets, a Divinely inspired Megilah, have only veiled references
It was a sweltering August day when the Greenberg brothers entered the posh Dearborn, Michigan offices of the notoriously anti-Semitic car-maker,
Henry Ford.“Mr. Ford,” announced Hyman Greenberg, the eldest of the
three, “we have a remarkable invention that will revolutionize the
automobile industry. “ Ford looked skeptical, but their threats to offer it to
obvious interference is undocumented; but we know and feel it – and we search for it, and we find it! So, too, in every instance we must seek His name,
find it, and recognize it. It may not be emblazoned on the bumper; it may be hidden on the console – but it is there. For Hashem is always speaking. Al we
r,xt ,hbg,
Our Whole Selves Rabbi Yaakov Menken (Torah.org)
"Letters were sent by courier to all countries under the King's power, to
destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all the Jews, from children to the elderly,
babies and women, on one day, the thirteenth of the twelfth month, which
is the month of Adar, and plunder their property." [Meg. Esther 3:13]
We see an apparent redundancy in the use of several different words to
describe the murder and plunder which Haman planned. The Vilna Gaon,
however, teaches us that Haman planned to strike at every element of
The Gaon, Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer, explains that there are four elements to a
person in Jewish thought: the basic life-force (Nefesh), spirit (Ruach), soul
(Neshamah), and the body. Rabbi Chanan Nobel, in his excellent
commentary on the Vilna Gaon on the Megillah, directs us to the Gaon's
own commentary to the Book of Proverbs. There, the Vilna Gaon says that
these correspond to the four basic levels of Creation in our living world:
those things which do not grow or live, such as rocks and earth; those
which grow, like plants; those which move about, such as the animal
kingdom; and that which speaks - humankind.
Jewish Clothing Rabbi Berel Wein (Torah.org)
Yet the Gaon goes further and says that the Nefesh, the basic life-force, is intertwined with the body itself. One does not attack a body, but the life
The emphasis in this week’s parsha on the clothing of the kohanim –
inside it. But there is indeed a fourth element of a person: his or her
the priests of Israel of the family of Aharon – raises the issue of “Jewish
possessions. The Maharal in Nesivos Olam writes that a person's money is
clothing” as practiced throughout the ages. The vestments of the
considered part of him, as we see from our Sages (Talmud Bavli, Tractate
kohanim were divinely ordained and their exact description
Bava Kama 119a): "a person who steals even a dime from his neighbor, it is
undoubtedly contains within it realms of spirituality and service to God
and man. These garments were meant to reflect “honor and glory” on those who wore them- and to the entire household of Israel. In fact, in
Thus there is no redundancy - Haman planned "l'akor hakol," to uproot
Second Temple times, when there was no longer any remaining
everything. The word "l'hashmid," to destroy, refers specifically to a spiritual
anointment oil that could be used to inaugurate the kohanim into the
destruction - taking a person away from Mitzvos, from deeds which
service in the Temple, the Talmud teaches us that donning the
elevate his or her soul. "To kill" corresponds to the living spirit within a
vestments of the priesthood was deemed to be sufficient to officially
person. "To annihilate" corresponds to the more basic life force and the
body itself, meaning to remove all trace, to destroy even any remnant or name of Israel. And the plunder of property, of course, corresponds to
Thus, to a great extent, clothing made the person. As such, I feel that it
the property itself. Haman wanted to destroy every last trace of the Jews.
is quite understandable that Jews always placed a great stress upon what clothing they wore and how they dressed. Natural y, the type
The Vilna Gaon concludes that our celebration of Purim contrasts with
and style of “Jewish clothing” varied in different ages and locations.
Haman's goal in every aspect. We add a purely spiritual Mitzvah to the day,
The Jews of Persia and Iraq did not wear Polish fur trimmed hats nor
with the reading of the Megillah, to uplift our souls. For the spirit, the "ruach"
did Polish Jews wear head scarves or turbans. The Jews of
which lives in the heart of a person, this is a day of joy. For the body, it is a
Amsterdam in the seventeenth and eighteenth century wore triangular
day of feasting. And for the sake of our property, we are commanded to
cockaded hats and the Lithuanian rabbis of the nineteenth century
give special gifts to the poor, in order that even they should have property
wore gentlemanly tall silk top hats. But the common denominator to all
of this is that, from the time of Moshe onwards, Jews attempted to
And indeed, on Purim, we should invest our whole selves in the
dress distinctively, albeit always within the confines and influences of
“Jewish clothing” was always meant to be modest, neat and clean. It was to be an “honor and glory” to the wearer and the Jewish society.
The Talmud speaks very strongly against Torah scholars who are
We are delighted to announce a new feature starting this week
somehow slovenly in the appearance of their clothing. Poverty was
– Brainteasers by Rabbi Stanton. Each week a new
never al owed to be an excuse for stains or dirt on one’s garments. In
brainteaser will be published, typically relating to the week’s
the Temple, the used clothing of the kohanim was still considered to
sedra. In the subsequent week’s issue the answer will be
have an element of holiness to them even if they could no longer be
worn. Wicks for the candelabra were fashioned from them.
Clothing was never looked at as being a purely inanimate object. After
This week we have two brainteasers relating to Purim – get your
all, the first clothing for humans was fashioned for Adam and Chava by
God Himself, so to speak. Ill treatment of clothing was deemed to be
a punishable offense. King David, in his old age was not warmed by his clothing any longer. The Rabbis attributed this to the fact that he
mistreated the clothing of King Saul earlier in his life.
I think all of the above helps explain the importance that clothing, the
type of individual “uniforms” that Jews in the world and here in Israel,
play in our communal and personal life. Each of us and the groups that we belong to attempt to wear clothing that will be an “honor and
glory” to us individually and to the group collectively. We should
therefore not only treat clothing with respect but we should respect
as well the wearers of those different types of clothing that conform
to our traditions of modesty and Jewish pride.
A fever is alarming for parents. The heat radiating off of your child’s forehead is hot enough to boil water, and he is listless, not himself. Take a deep breath. How are you taking his temperature? Between the age 0-3months, we prefer that you take his temperature rectally. What was that? Yes, you can do this! Take a digital thermometer, add some petroleum jelly to the tip of it and insert it
y‰xa, rst t‰h - vum, ,arp ,ca – 7th March 2009
the competition kept his interest piqued. “We would like to demonstrate it to you in person.” After a little cajoling, they brought Mr. Ford outside and asked him to enter a black Edsel that was
rufz ,arp 
obvious interference is undocumented; but we know and feel it – and we search for it, and we find it! So, too, in every instance we must seek His name,
find it, and recognize it. It may not be emblazoned on the bumper; it may be hidden on the console – but it is there. For Hashem is always speaking. Al we
r,xt ,hbg,