The Stanton Street Weekly Newsletter: Parashat Beshalach, Shabbat Shira
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Week of January 29th, 2021 16 Shevat 5781 Parashat Beshalach, Shabbat Shira
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Erev Shabbat January 29th (16 Shevat) 4:52p Candle Lighting
Shabbat Vaera, January 30th (17 Shevat) 9:30a Shabbat Services IN SHUL Register Here 5:54p Shabbat Ends. Gut Vuch and Shavua Tov! 6:15p Havdalah FROM YOUR HOME TO OURS via ZOOM
Monday, February 1st (19 Shevat) 7p Part Two of David Deutch's Lecture Series via ZOOM Tuesday, February 2nd (20 Shevat) 7p - 8p Parshat haShavuah Beshalach with Rabbi Leead Staller via ZOOM Wednesday, February 3rd (21 Shevat) 7p - 8:15p Rabbi Leead Staller's Tefillah shiur via ZOOM
Scroll down for class and event details.
Thank you to this week's DONORS We are grateful to have such a committed community The following congregants contributed to the Mishloach Manot 2021 Project: Richard Bell • Rebecca Betensky & Jeremy Newberger • Dara Freed • Dana Friedman • Jeff Katz • Phyllis & Paul Ruffer Moshe Bloxenheimin honor of his parents, Rav Chaim and Sonia Bloxenheim Jeff Katz and Phyllis Rufferfor General Donations in honor of Rabbi Leead & Shoshana's impressive cooking class Talor Trustyfor General Donations in honor of Marc Schwartzberg
COVID Protocols As cases rise nationally, and New York City tightens restrictions, we reemphasize the need to abide by the CDC guidelines. If you feel sick, please stay at home. If you attend in-person services, please wear a mask and register for services in advance. Thank you everyone for your cooperation as we all work together to ensure a safe service.
From Your Home to Ours Stanton's ZOOMing Havdallah
Let's celebrate the end of Shabbat and the beginning of the work week together! ZOOM INat 6:15pm on Saturday night Please invite your friends and neighbors, and volunteer to lead us next week!
THE RABBI'S DRASHAH
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.
Was Rambam a sinner? While the question seems inflammatory, it is, in fact, one of hot debate over generations of the tradition. Of course, the label “sinner” might be hyperbole, as the sin in question is one very specific and niche prohibition found in this week’s Parashah. As the Jews are about to cross the Dead Sea and escape Egypt, Moses tells them (14:13):
כִּ֗י אֲשֶׁ֨ר רְאִיתֶ֤ם אֶת־מִצְרַ֙יִם֙ הַיּ֔וֹם לֹ֥א תֹסִ֛יפוּ לִרְאֹתָ֥ם ע֖וֹד עַד־עוֹלָֽם׃ “For as you see Egypt today, you shall not see it ever again.”
While this verse does not seem like the typical form in which commandments are given in the Torah– really more of a general observation about the state of destruction that is about to befall Egypt– our Rabbis actually learn this verse to be a prohibition. More specifically, this verse is learned as the basis of a Torah prohibition for a Jew to live in Egypt. The Yerushalmi in Succah records our Passuk as one of three instances of this prohibition in the Torah, and the Bavli (Succah 51b), expanding on that idea, explains that the large and thriving Jewish community of Alexandria was wiped out for violating this prohibition by living in Egypt. If that’s the case, and there is a prohibition to live in Egypt, does that make Rambam– as well as rabbinic greats such as the Radvaz hundreds of years later, and Rav Ovadiah Yosef in our own time– sinful for having lived in Egypt? In fact, the Sefer Kaftor UFerach, a fourteenth century rabbinic work about the land of Israel, quotes in the name of Rambam’s grandson that Rambam himself would regularly amend his own signature with the preface, “he who violates three prohibitions every day.” According to this shocking account of the Kaftor UFerach, Rambam himself agreed that his life decision was sinful, but nonetheless continued living in Egypt! ...continued
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 wish Mr. Jay Kitainik, Yechiel Ben Ita, the father of Neil Kitainik, a speedy and full recovery.
This week, David Deutsch who commemorated his father's yahrzeit on 14 Shevat, brought together our first in-person maariv and shacharit minyanim since last Purim! Thank you to all who joined us, and yashar koach to David for spearheading and leading the minyanim.
VIRTUAL LEARNING
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.
Cooking with Rabbi Leead & Shoshana in honor of Tu b'shevatwas a wild success and the treat of the season. Within an hour and a half, and very limited counter space, the rabbi whipped up salt encrusted baked delicata squash with spicy petita salsa sauce, a Sheva Minim salad with feta cheese, and a fruit tart with a graham cracker crust. The piece de resistance was not the dessert but a short drusha on the holiday itself. Rabbi Leead shared pro tips as well, including insights on the chemistry and physics of the cooking process. A recording is available onStanton Street's YouTube channel, along with many other classes and shiurim. Stay tuned for upcoming cooking classes!
Rabbi Leead Staller hosts Parshat haShavuah Beshalach Tuesday, February 2nd, 7:00 - 8:00pm via ZOOM To join by phone, dial 1-(929) 205 6099 and enter Member ID: 847 9509 7605
AND Tefillah Shiur Wednesday, February 3rd, 7:00-8:15pm via ZOOM To join by phone, dial 1-(929) 205 6099 and enter Member ID: 894 9535 0094
David Deutsch's Three-Part Lecture Series: From Antisemitism to Extermination - the Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy
Although it is believed by many that the Final Solution was the culmination of a decades-long plan on the part of the Nazi leadership, the consensus of modern historians is that it arose out of wartime circumstances.
January 25th Germany and Hitler's Antisemitism: The Place of Jews in Weimar Germany and the Nazi Consciousness February 1st Judenfrei: Nazi Jewish Policy in the 1930's February 8th German Military Ambitions, Failures, and the Adoption of the Final Solution
To participate by phone, dial 1 929 205 6099 and enter Meeting ID: 845 3085 7476
Be Happy! It's Adar
Women's Tefillah Group Rosh Chodesh Services February 12th at 8am via ZOOM By women for women. To lead any part of the service, email us. By phone, dial 1 929 205 6099 and enter Meeting ID: 852 1655 6353 Sponsorships available at $36 or higher.
PRE-PURIM PROGRAMS
Solving Mysteries in Megillat Esther: Whatever Happened to Vashti? February 18th at 8pm Sandra Rapoport will explore Biblical storytelling, the historical context of the Megillah, and the different approaches of the Jerusalem and Babylonian Talmuds to Vashti and the legends surrounding her fate. Ms. Rapoport will then read from her latest novel, The Queen & The Spymaster which tells the story of Vashti, and solves the biblical mystery. Sandra E. Rapoport is an attorney, an award-winning author of four books, Resident Scholar in Law and Bible at Harvard. Click here to order your copy of The Queen & The Spymaster at a special 20% discount.
Artemisia: Esther and Women Richard McBee's Art Talk
February 22nd at 7pm Richard McBee discusses Artemisia Gentileschi's Esther Before Ahasuerus in the Metropolitan Museum of Art--a paradigmatic example of this 17th century female artist’s oeuvre. More than a quarter of her paintings aggressively depict Jewish heroines in a Baroque era rock-star career. We shall explore her feminist Jewish treasures.
CHESED OPPORTUNITIES
The Weekly Chesed Roundup Looking for a local or remote chesed opportunity this week? Here are some ways you can help individuals in need:
Sign up for volunteer opportunities with Repair The World Participatein a volunteer project with New York Cares Donate food or clothes to The Bowery Mission Feed the hungrywith City Harvest (for folks under 65) Volunteer at a food bank with Food Bank for NYC Take care of the earth by volunteering with GrowNYC Take actionfor NYC refugees and asylum seekers with HIAS
Knit and send a winter hatto an IDF soldier. If you have knit a hat, please get your hat to member Ellen Silversteinand she will get them to Israel --brought to you by our Chesed/Social Action Committee
ONLINE ARCHIVES Click HERE for an archive of shiurim by Rabbi Staller ClickHERE 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 Katzor committee members Paul Ruffer, Margie Segal, Marc Schwartzberg, and Ellen Silverstein. We welcome your input.