The Stanton Street Weekly Newsletter: Shabbat Achrei Mot-Kedoshim
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Week of April 23rd, 2021 11 Iyyar 5781 Shabbat Achrei Mot-Kedoshim
Erev Shabbat April 23rd: 26th Day Omer (11 Iyyar) Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום שבעה ועשרים יום שהם שלשה שבועות וששה ימים לעמר 7p Kabbalat Shabbat IN SHUL Register Here 7:26p Candle Lighting
Shabbat Achrei Mot-Kedoshim, April 24th: 27th Day Omer (12 Iyyar) Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום שמונה ועשרים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות לעמר 9:30a Shabbat Services IN SHUL Register Here 8:28p Shabbat Ends. Gut Vuch and Shavua Tov! 8:50p Havdalah FROM YOUR HOME TO OURS via Zoom Sunday, April 25th: 28th Day Omer (13 Iyyar) Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום תשעה ועשרים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות ויום אחד לעמר Monday, April 26th: Pesach Sheni, 29th Day Omer (14 Iyyar) Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום שלשים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות ושני ימים לעמר Tuesday, April 27th: 30th Day Omer (15 Iyyar) Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום אחד ושלשים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות ושלשה ימים לעמר 7p - 8p Rabbi Leead Staller's Parshat HaShavuah Shiur via ZOOM Wednesday, April 28th: 31st Day Omer (16 Iyyar) Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום שנים ושלשים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות וארבעה ימים לעמר 7p - 8:15p Rabbi Leead Staller's Tefillah Class via ZOOM
Thursday, April 29th: 32nd Day Omer (17 Iyyar) Tonight's Sefirah Count Is: היום שלשה ושלשים יום שהם ארבעה שבועות וחמשה ימים לעמר
See below for more details on events.
Thank you to this week's DONOR We are grateful to have such a committed community
Joel Moses to the Rabbi's Discretionary Fund Marc Stein • Neal Picker to the General Fund Phyllis & Paul Ruffer • Monica Lindner to the Yizkor Appeal Phyllis & Paul Ruffer in memory of Martin Pulver
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 8:50pm on Saturday night Please invite your friends and neighbors, and volunteer to lead us next week!
FROM RABBI LEEAD
As more than half our congregation is vaccinated, and with vaccines available to all adults, in-person Shul life is within reach! We've been able to launch a beautiful Friday night service with the influx of conregants who have returned after being away for more than a year. We look forward to davening amidst our full congregation soon. With that in mind, if you could fill in asurveyabout in-person Shavuot planning, it would help us plan for our next big step out of this long year+ of COVID.
Drashah: After weeks of animal sacrifice, blood, and bodily emissions, we have arrived at the less visceral parts of Sefer VaYikra. Our double Parshah, Achrei Mot-Kedoshim, serves as the transitionary point in the book of Leviticus, as we pivot from talk of temple sacrifice and ritual impurity to the abstract idea of societal “purity,” as God tells us we need to maintain an upstanding interpersonal ethic if we want to keep the land of Israel, and the Jewish society established within it, “pure” and worthy. This transition from literal metaphysical impurity to figurative metaphorical impurity is best expressed in God’s warning in our Parshah, that we shall not “Mitamei,” impurify the land of Israel, lest it spit us out. To that end, God gives us a list of mundane ethical imperatives, governing honesty in our business dealings and interpersonal relationships.
I’d like to look at one of these seemingly mundane business laws as a case study of the significance of these commandments to the larger goal of maintaining a “pure” land and society. God commands the Jewish people (VaYikra 19:13): לֹא־תַֽעֲשֹׁ֥ק אֶת־רֵֽעֲךָ֖ וְלֹ֣א תִגְזֹ֑ל לֹֽא־תָלִ֞ין פְּעֻלַּ֥ת שָׂכִ֛יר אִתְּךָ֖ עַד־בֹּֽקֶר
Do not oppress your fellow, do not steal, do not withhold a worker’s wages until the morning. Following the umbrella prohibition against stealing, the Torah gives us seemingly a specific expression of it. Do not withhold wages from your workers. While the ethical violation here is intuitive, as surely withholding owed payment seems tantamount to stealing, the need to single out this specific form of thievery seems confusing. God literally just told us, for the umpteenth time no less, that it is prohibited to steal. Why is it necessary to go on and single out a specific case of stealing– a boss who steals wages from his worker? Isn’t that included in the blanket prohibition of Lo Tigzol? Indeed, the Gemara in Bava Metzia tells us that one who withholds wages violates Lo Tigzol, and this new prohibition of Lo Talin, withholding wages. But if that’s the case, why is there a need for the redundancy? ...continued Click HERE to read the Rabbi's full Drasha
COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS
Planning for Shavuot SURVEY Please help us plan our next big in-shul gathering.
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE RITUAL COMMITTEE
The Ritual Committee has begun a community self-study to explore ways to enrich the davening experience at The Stanton Street Shul. Paul Ruffer, the committee chair, will call each member household to discuss what would enhance members' davening experience and the committee will use that input to enrich davening at Stanton Street.
Through this survey inquiry we hope to identify folks who can lead Havdalah and other services and expand our pool of Baalei Tefillah. In June, the Ritual Committee will inaugurate a Davening Clinic with classes from Rabbi Staller on being a Shaliach Tzibur, what it means to lead communal prayer, and the details of that important communal responsibility. Following the Rabbi's classes, the Davening Clinic will host classes to strengthen the Baalei Tefillah skills of those who have offered to function in that important role.
After getting our Baalei Tefillah classes underway, we hope to create a Davening Buddy System where we will match folks with strong Hebrew reading & Davening skills with other folks who want to strengthen their Hebrew Reading and Davening skills. Through such programming we hope to expand participation and engagement in communal prayer at Stanton Street.
If you get a phone call from a (240) 460-2717 number, know it's Paul Ruffer reaching out to you, so please pick up so that we can have your voice and input in this important community self study.
With everyone's participation we can create that vibrant Davening Clinic and Community that will further enrich our davening at The Stanton Street Shul and help us continue to grow and go from strength to strength.
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. Refuah Sh'leimato Leslie Levinson who is getting stronger, and best wishes to David Chu, Brina and Malka Chu.
Building Community Together UPDATE YOUR SHUL CLOUD ACCOUNT For many, remembering Yahrzeits, Birthdays, and Anniversaries are the most personal and meaningful dates on our calendar. They connect us to our deepest emotions. The Stanton Street Shul would like to help you remember these important dates. As we live busy lives, many of us would appreciate being reminded in advance of upcoming Yahrzeits. In the future, and upon request, we would like to hold more morning and evening services for members to say kaddish.
We can automatically generate personalized greetings and reminders once you enter your dates onto your Shul account page. If you prefer, you may bring a list of your Yahrzeits, birthday and anniversary dates to Shul and we will gladly update your account for you. If you don't know the dates of your yahrzeits, please send name of loved one and time/date of death to Jill.
This is one more way of building a stronger, caring and loving community.
Luria Academy of Brooklyn is excited to continue welcoming applicants for our Upper School in the 2021-2022 school year. Parents and rising 4th - 8th graders are invited to find out more about our progressive, child-centered learning program, our dynamic and vibrant Jewish education, and our rigorous preparation for high school. Please visit www.luria-academy.org or contact our Admissions Office for more information.
Rabbi Leead Staller hosts Parshat haShavuah Tuesday, April 27th, 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, April 28st, 7:00-8:15pm via ZOOM To join by phone, dial 1-(929) 205 6099 and enter Member ID: 894 9535 0094
Stanton Street Shul Book Club Next Meeting Thursday, April 22nd 7pm - 8:30pm via ZOOM
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. The Rabbi and Board of Trustees are currently engaged in a mid-year reflection process, and we welcome the community's input. To share feedback, please reach out, confidentially, to Board members Jeff Katz (chair of the Rabbinic Advisory Committee), Margie Segal, or Jessica Spector. Rabbi Staller may be reached directly by email or by phone/text at (917) 282-7643.
