Weekly Newsletter

Week of November 20th, 2020
4 Kislev 5781
Shabbat Toldot

Thank you to this week's DONORS
We are grateful to have such a committed community.
Ethan Ellenberg • Jackie & Andrew Klaber • Wendy Linderman
Malka Percal • Jessica Spector

Eruv Drive
Give back to your community and help strengthen the communal infrastructure by donating to support the Eruv! While our community might be historic, our Eruv is young and needs your help to ensure its continued success. The Eruv enables the programming and communal gatherings that lie at the heart of our Shabbat experience, and to which many of us are eager to return, as soon as it is safe to do so. Donations may be made here. Please note, in the form, that your donation is for the Eruv.

COVID Protocols:
If you feel sick, please stay at home, and if you are coming to Shul, mask-wearing over both your mouth and nose remains non-negotiable. Please register for services in advance, so that we may prepare for your arrival and have a record for potential contact tracing. We are thankful to be able to meet, safely, during this difficult time. 

We at The Stanton Street Shul and beyond have the incredible opportunity to learn Torah from the comfort of our own homes every week! Hear Rabbi Staller's fresh perspective on the weekly parsha on Tuesday evening at 7:00 PM and his innovative approach to understanding Tefillah (prayer) on Wednesdays at the same time. All Stanton classes are free and recorded for your review, but it is the live interchange between rabbi and participants that energizes these classes and makes them special. 

Because many of us are not able to attend shul in person, the Rabbi has agreed to share his shabbat morning drashah in advance. Here is the first half of it. To read the full drashah, click here and it will take you to what will become a rich archive of all of Rabbi Staller's drashot.  

The drama in the room is high when Yaakov, covered in goat fur and his brother’s clothing, enters into his father’s room pretending to be Eisav. The tension is pushed to its peak when Yitzchak observes that, despite the hairy hands, “the voice is the voice of Jacob.” Ultimately, Yitzchak is fooled and Yaakov succeeds in stealing his brother’s blessing from his father, and slips out through a back exit mere moments before Eisav shows up and demands his blessing. And yet, while this story is familiar to us by now, in the moment, it all must have seemed so bizarre. How could it be that this is God’s will? Why did God orchestrate the events of Jewish history such that Jacob had to deceive his father and steal Eisav’s blessing in order to carry on the religious mantle of Avraham and Yitzchak? 

While many of us grew up on this story, and are used to the foregone conclusion that Yaakov had to steal Eisav’s blessing, and that events had to play out this way, it may not, in fact, be so clear. Later on in the Torah, Yaakov’s son Yosef is sold into bondage in Egypt, and Yaakov is told that he was killed by a wild animal. Rashi (Bereishit 37:34) quotes a Midrash that says that Yaakov suffered 22 years thinking Yosef was dead, as a punishment for the 22 years Yaakov lived with Lavan and neglected his responsibility to honor his father and mother. In other words, according to this Midrash, Yaakov is punished for running away from home! But how could this be? If Yaakov had to steal the blessing from Eisav to be the leader of the Jewish people, thus angering Eisav and threatening his own life, how could he be punished for fleeing and protecting himself?

Rabbeinu Bachya (b. Asher 13th c. Spain) gives a technical explanation, saying that while Yaakov had to run away to protect himself from Eisav, he didn’t have to run away quite so long. According to Rabbeinu Bachya, Rivkah’s initial plan was simply for Yaakov to lay low for a few days, maybe meet and marry Leah while he was with Lavan, and then return when things blew over. Thus, according to Rabbeinu Bachya, while it’s true that Yaakov had to run away to avoid Eisav after stealing his blessing, Yaakov’s sin was the length of time he was absent...

Click HERE to read the Rabbi's full Drasha

Please take a moment to fill out the Chesed/Social Action Committee's Survey. Share your interest, with Committee Chairs, in chesed, or acts of kindness, including volunteer opportunities and providing support to community members during lifecycle events; and educational opportunities for social action, specifically focused on racial justice efforts.

Misheberach: We pray that all who are sick may have a full recovery. To add a name to our communal misheberach prayer list, email us. 

We continue to mourn the loss of Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks and Reb Dovid Feinstein.

Mazel Tov!! Hody Nemes, a former Rabbinic Intern at the Stanton Street Shul, his wife Ariella and their older child Shaya are hosting a baby naming Saturday night at 6:45pm via ZOOM Pswd: 928602 To participate by phone, dial: +1 301-715-8592 and enter Meeting ID: 931 1041 7064 and Passcode: 928602 

CLICK HERE to view our Annual Bulletin
Printed copies are available at shul.

    Get in touch with Brina Chu or sign up here if you would like to participate
    in this great event on Sunday. 

SPONSOR A CLASS
Please sponsor a virtual class in honor of oneself, the Shul, a yahrzeit, an anniversary, a birthday, or in the name of a friend or someone who sustains the Shul with their hard work.  Sponsorships begin at $36, but there is no maximum. All sponsorships benefit the Shul and are very much appreciated. 

ONLINE ARCHIVES
Click HERE for an archive of shiurim by Rabbi Staller
Click HERE for an archive of drashot by Rabbi Staller
Click HERE to go to our YouTube Channel for an archive of our ZOOM classes

Rabbi Staller Encourages and Welcomes Your Feedback and can be reached by email or by phone/text at (917) 282-7643. Alternatively, you may reach out, confiedentially, to our Rabbinic Advisory Committee. Contact committee chair Jeff Katz or committee members Paul Ruffer, Margie Segal, Marc Schwartzberg, and Ellen Silverstein. We welcome your input.

For important resources during this COVID-19 era, please  CLICK HERE.