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Candle Lighting: 5:04 PM
Havdalah: 6:13 PM
SHABBAT WORKS
Parashat Beshalach
PARASHAT
HASHAVUA
Parashat Beshalach
Exodus 13:17 - 17:16
(pp. 166-179 in the
Stone Tanakh)
Haftarah:
Judges 4:4 - 5:31
(pp. 590-597 in the
Stone Tanakh)
SHABBAT
Service Schedule
SATURDAY MORNING
9:00 AM
Birkot HaShachar
Early Morning Blessings
9:10 AM -
9:40 AM
Rabbi Finley’s
Morning Study Session
Doors Close
(no wandering in and out)
9:45 AM 10:30 AM
Morning Prayer Service
Doors remain open for the
remainder of the morning
10:45 AM
Torah Service
11:15 AM -
11:45 AM
Rabbi Finley’s
Torah Study
12:00 PM
Concluding Prayers
12:15 PM
Kiddush, HaMotsi
12:30 PM
Lunch
1:00 PM
Lunch then Learn
Amidah
The Standing Prayer
Teachings Led by Rabbi Mordecai Finley
Community Chazzanim
Vocal Accompaniment
Community Torah Readers
Community Gabbai’im
Jacob Kantor
Belinda Lams
Rabbi Mordecai Finley
Julie Giuffrida
Rebecca Pidgeon
Joshua Abarbanel
Curt Biren
Pianist
Arie Salma
Percussion & Keyboard
Jeff Lams
Accordionist
Art Shane
Friday night January 30
Saturday January 31 2015
11 Shevat 5775
Parashat
Beshalach
FOR OUR MEMBERS AND GUESTS
MINHAG HAMAKOM*
ATTIRE
Men and boys must wear kippot/yarmulkes
while attending Ohr HaTorah.
Please dress up a little to respect and
honor the Sabbath (no blue jeans, t-shirts,
flip-flops, shorts, cut-offs, immodest dress,
etc.)
ELECTRONICS
Cell phones, pagers, cameras, and
other electronics must remain off in the
sanctuary. If you must make or receive a
call, find a private place.
YOUNG CHILDREN
All parents with infants are kindly
requested to leave the service when their
child needs immediate attention. We ask
that parents with young children sit in the
back rows to help minimize any disruption
to the service.
MORNING STUDY SESSION
The Morning Study Session (9:10-9:40AM)
is part of the Adult Education Program
at Ohr HaTorah. It is open to members,
prospective members and visitors for their
first few times at Ohr HaTorah. If you are
a visitor or prospective member, please
sign in on the guest sign-in sheet at the
front table in the lobby.
Rabbi Finley’s Morning Study Session
begins at 9:10 AM sharp. Please arrive
early enough to be seated when study
begins.
Doors close at the beginning of Rabbi’s
9:10 AM study session, so that people do
not continuously walk into the sessions
the Rabbi is teaching. Anyone leaving the
session will not be readmitted until the
study session is completed.
Doors reopen after the study session
and remain open through the rest of the
morning.
Those entering during the Rabbi’s Torah
study (approximately 11:15-11:45AM)
should be seated in the back, and not
seek a seat in the front of the sanctuary.
*THE LOCAL CUSTOM
(FOR SHABBAT)
Synopsis of the Torah Portion
Exodus 13:17 - 17:16
1. On our way out of Egypt, God directs away from the land
of the Philistines, lest we see war and return to Egypt, and
directs us instead on the “Desert-Sea of Reeds” route. A
pillar of cloud guides us by day and a pillar of fire by night.
2. God strengthens Pharaoh’s heart, and he pursues the
Israelites who are encamped at the sea.
3. The people are frightened, but Moshe (Moses) assures
them of God’s deliverance. A strong east wind moves the
sea and the waters split. The Israelites pass through the
waters.
4. The Egyptian army pursues them; their chariots bog
down in the damp ground. The sea closes over them,
destroying the army. Moshe and Israel sing a song of
deliverance, followed by Miriam and all the women with
their drumming and song.
5. Once in the Sinai desert, we begin complaining for food.
God provides quail once, and begins the miracle of the
manna, which continues our entire 40 years in the desert.
The Sabbath is observed. The complaining does not stop.
6. Battle with Amalek, the nemesis of Israel.
Synopsis of Haftarah
(prophetic reading)
Judges 4:4 - 5:31
After the conquest/liberation of the land of Canaan by Joshua, we
were led intermittently by tribal chieftains (Shofetim -- called in
English “Judges”) who arose in times of great distress to save the
nation. One of the great tribal chiefs was Deborah the prophet,
who decided to break the oppressive grip that King Jabin and his
mercenary general, Sisera, had on the Israelites. Under Deborah
and her general, Barak’s leadership, we dealt a crushing blow to
Sisera and his army. Deborah and Barak, like Moshe, Miriam and
the Israelites at the Red Sea, composed a song of victory and rejoicing.
The Song of Deborah, as it is known, stands with the Song at the Sea
as a masterpiece in biblical (and world) poetry.
Faith and the Soul
Rabbi Mordecai Finley
The soul can be torn, and beneath that tear there is a new self emerging. Sometimes we are
working so hard to make ourselves better, or to better a situation with others. Our struggle is truly
good and even a holy one. We sometimes reach an impasse, and we realize that our abilities, our
thoughts, our intelligence, our will, are not enough. Often there is a moment of despair. Our will
runs up against the reality of the self and the world.
Sometimes something rather miraculous happens. A sense of grace (Hebrew, “chen”) emerges,
a sense that one’s soul will be fine. I have seen this in many moments in life, and oftentimes
in moments around death. A dying person, previously wracked with resentment, pain, fear and
anger, suddenly beatifically smiles and says, “it is all about love, isn’t it?”
I think about this when I think about the word “faith.” When I am asked now and again to speak
about faith by someone who does not know my teachings, I realize a few moments in that I am
not playing to type. I am supposed to say something along the lines of “believe in that which is
beyond the empirical senses.” That discussion usually flows into the “how do we know?” and I,
representing religion, God, superstition (as the case may be) am supposed to rise to the challenge of
proving the non empirical. I know how to play those lines. I don’t find them especially interesting.
When you consider that language and meaning take shape in deep, unseen layers of consciousness,
we see that what we call ideas (words that don’t refer to the physical world) are life surface
eruptions of architectonic movement. Did you ever search for the right word? And discover it? Or
discover a word and realize that it named something that your soul knows, but you did not have a
word for it? Words can order the world of the soul as it approaches the conscious mind. They are
like street signs coming up from out of a city blanketed by fog (to use a wonderful image of James
Hillman). Ideas name experiences in the soul.
So when I think of faith, I think that I have found words that can articulate oh so poorly a luminous
experience of the soul. I feel as if I am trying to play Mozart by clacking pans and spoons together.
And the strangest thing is: in the midst of my clacking of pans and spoons, another person also
hears Mozart. And they clack theirs pans and spoons and I hear the music of spheres.
Events happen in the deepest regions of the soul, and they strive to be known in and to shape
consciousness. We have no choice but to reify them into the clacking of language. Bad things can
happen. Non-musical clackers say that our clacking is nonsense. Literalist clackers try to congeal
experiences of the soul to dogma, the latter only being the purported solution to yesterday’s
problem. The knowledge of the soul swirls in, through and above time, consciousness and being.
Soul knowledge resists being forced into nice little conceptual or theological boxes.
A dying woman came to a sense of grace and faith in my presence and said, “It’s all about love,
isn’t it?” I had counseled her. I saw that years of resentment and keeping score just fell away like
scales over her eyes.
In those words, she communicated something vastly more than an observation about life. She
allowed me in where her soul had torn open a blockage, and a new self was born just as she was
dying.
When I think about faith, I think about this.
COMMUNITY
NEW DATE!!
OHT Men’s Group Brunch
Sunday February 15th
10:00 am to 12:30 pm
Cost: $15 per person
RSVP: Paul Brooks ([email protected])
Please RSVP for location.
Coming Up @The HUB on Venice
Saturday, January 31
After Shul Movie Theatre, 12:30PM
Lunch then Learn, 1PM
Gloria Delia z’’l Memorial Service, 3:30PM
Wednesday, February 4
SFMP, 12:30PM
Friday, February 6, 5:30PM
**NEW DATE** Shabbaba
Saturday, February 7, 6PM
Is Biz, 7:30PM
Saturday, February 14
Sophos Cafe Closed for Private Event
Friday, February 20 - Sunday, February 22
Religious School Retreat
Wednesday, March 4, 5:30PM
Purim
Saturday, March 14
“A Night in The French Quarter” OHT Gala
Want more information? Visit www.thehubonvenice.com
The Ohr HaTorah staff is available to assist you during office hours:
Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 4:00pm
11827 Venice Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90066 (Corner of S. Barrington)
Phone: (310) 915-5200
Fax: (310) 915-5792
Email: [email protected]
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
President
Rabbi Mordecai Finley,
Co-CEO
[email protected]
Vice-President, Secretary
Meirav Finley, Co-CEO
[email protected]
Second Vice-President
Sheri Porath-Rockwell,
Legal Liaison
[email protected]
Treasurer
Pamela Mahoney
[email protected]
Director at Large
Sheila Coop
Human Resources
[email protected]
OFFICERS OF THE
CONGREGATIONAL COUNCIL
Josh Abarbanel, Gabbai,
Religious Service Leader
Stacey Abarbanel,
Community Outreach
Hadas Abouaf, Officer at
Large
Keith Abouaf, Officer at
Large
Alex Abramovici, Officer at
Large
Pam Abramovici, Officer at
Large
Endre Balogh, Community
Photographer, Music
Committee
Adela Barnett, Torah Study
Group Chairperson
Helena Barry, Membership
Danielle Behar, Community
Outreach, Early Childhood
Curt Biren, Gabbai, Religious
Service Leader
Larry Bogatz, Men’s Group
Co-Chair and Earthquake
Preparedness
Paul Brooks, Men’s Group
Co-Chair
Malcolm Brown, Officer at
Large
Neisha Cohen, Membership
Bettina Chokron, Social
Media, Marketing
Raqueli Dahan, Community
Outreach, Early Childhood
Gloria Delia z”l, Shabbat
Lunch Co-Chair, Fundraising
Events*
Tamara Effron, Religious
School, Membership Committee
Ilan Efrati, Officer at Large
Janet Ehrenberg, Community
Outreach
Matt Ehrenberg, Community
Photographer
Karen Feldman, G’milut
Chassadim, Membership
Committee Chairperson
Julie Giuffrida,
Programming, Publications
David Goldsmith, Officer at
Large
Noam Gonen, Sound
Engineering
Stephen Grynberg,
Community Outreach
David Guth, Membership
Vincent Hartung, Sound
Engineering
Jessica Kahn, Community
Outreach
Nadav Kahn, Community
Outreach
Harvey Kaner, Officer at
Large
Jacob Kantor, Cantorial
Leader, Music Committee
Julia Kantor, Music
Committee
Denise Kaufman, Music
Committee
Jonathan Khorsandi, Social
Media, Marketing
Larry Klein, Music Committee
Luciana Klein, Music
Committee
Janny Kummer, Fundraising
Events
Belinda Lams, Music
Committee
Jeff Lams, Sound Engineering
Jerry Leichtling, Community
Outreach
Jeff Linnetz, HHD Committee,
Garage Sale Chairperson
Sandra MacDonald,
Fundraising Events, Garage
Sales Co-Chair
David Mamet, Building
Committee Co-Chair
Sheri Manning, Torah Study
Group Committee
Debra McGuire, Fundraising
Events
Bill Meyers, Shabbat Lunch
Committee
Jilla Moradzadeh,
Community Outreach
Masoud Moradzadeh,
Fundraising Events, Religious
Service Committee
Arnold Porath, Building
Committee
Rebecca Pidgeon, Music
Committee
Jim Ries, Building Committee
Co-Chair
Linda Ries, Gift Shop
Melinda Rosenthal, G’milut
Chassadim Committee
Debbie Ryan, Silent Auction
Arie Salma, Music
Committee, Web Design
Arlene Sarner, Silent Auction
Arthur Shane, Music
Committee
Rina Shapira, Officer at Large
Andrea Spector, Officer at
Large
Ross St. Phillip, Shabbat
Lunch Committee
Robb Strom, Legal Counsel
Yolanda Strom, Flowers
Coordinator, Fundraising Events
Eric Taub, Lighting Committee
Chrisann Verges, Officer at
Large
*Of blessed memory
Please Note: All materials for the Weekly Update, as well as flyers for
Shabbat, must be in the OHT office no later than the end of business
hours the preceding Monday!