Jerusalem Follow-up
5759 February 13,199927 Shvat,
Hi Fellowshippers:
Our New York office is looking forward to hosting our Fellowships Reunion Shabbaton this weekend. If you haven't yet RSVP'd. Give us a call at 1-800 FELLOWS. See you there!
RETURN AND LEARN -- Just $500 for 3 Weeks
The Women's Return and Learn dates for this summer are now official: May 24th - June 30th and July 1st - August 6th. Join us for at least 3 weeks and your entire stay can cost just $500, including airfare from New York. Check out future editions for the men's dates and futher announcements...
Speaking of dates... once again here are the dates for our Summer Fellowships programs.
Internship for Leaders
Summer Break Program
MBA Leadership Mission
Mazel Tovs
... to Daniel Zuckerbrod (June '94) and his fiancee, Dafna on their engagement
... to Beth Schreiber (July '98) and her fiancee, Jeff on their engagment (a June wedding is planned)
UPCOMING EVENTS
IT'S NOT TO LATE TO SIGN UP
: Join us Friday evening, February 12th to Saturday night, February 13th in Monsey, NY for another fabulous, Jerusalem Fellowships Reunion Shabbaton. Memories, food, drinks, friends, shmoozing, singing, divrei Torah and much, much more. Call 1-800 FELLOWS to RSVP and for directions.EMAIL ADDRESS
CHANGES AND UPDATESJust wanted to give you all the new info:
Devorah (Dorothy) and Steven Kigel
46 West 87th Street
Apt. 1A
NY NY 10024
212-769-8753 home
212-303-7431 work
drose@hadassah.org (work)
Very happy to be married, though now I have even less time than as a single
woman!
Love,
Devorah Rose Kigel
---------------
Beth Schreiber's email: bethschreiber@yahoo.com
Inspiration
10 Ways to Enrich Your Life -EVERYDAY
1. Bring light into someone else's life: Do something for someone--preferably without him or her knowing it.
2. Remember the true meaning of your life: Don't forget your prayers and blessings to G-d.
3. EXERCISE! Walk, workout, dance, move your body.
4. Don't let bad feelings ferment. Don't go to bed without clearing up misunderstandings with those close to you.
5. Have breakfast and dinner with your family.
6. Read something inspiring everyday.
7. Appreciate the beauty of nature.
8. Express your gratitude to someone.
9. Hug and kiss your family. Tell them you love them.
10.Insist on making your contribution to the world. Make a plan for tomorrow.
Joke of the "Weak"
Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah-he was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh's daughter-she went down to the bank of the Nile and drew
Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he got married?
A. Ruth-less.
Q. Who was the first drug addict in the Bible?
A. Nebuchadnezzar-he was on grass for seven years.
Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson-he brought the house down.
Q. How did Adam and Eve feel when expelled from the Garden of Eden?
A. They were really put out.
Q. What is one of the first things that Adam and Eve did after they
were kicked out?Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer
lived in Eden?Q. Who is the greatest baby sitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David-he rocked Goliath to sleep.
Q. What is the best way to get to Paradise?
A. Turn right and go straight.
Q. Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the
Bible?Q. Where is the first tennis match mentioned in the Bible?
A. When Joseph served in Pharaoh's court.
Q: Which Bible character had no parents?
A: Joshua, son of Nun.
Q: How do we know that they played cards in the ark?
A: Because Noah sat on the deck
YAAKOV'S CAMPUS CORNER
(Rabbi Yaakov Singer joined our North American Fellowships staff this past summer as our Campus Coordinator. If you are currently in college and would like to get more involved in our campus programming, please contact him by email at
ysinger@aish.edu, or call him toll free at 877-472-5412. Yaakov is a regular contributor to our Jerusalem Follow-up Newsletter)Shabbos is the best time to take a deep breath, to reflect on a week that was full of struggles, successes, and lessons, and to gain perspective on what is truly valuable in life. In fact, often it’s not until after those moments of Shabbos introspection that we have an accurate perception of our week’s growth. It is also one of those times that is free in most people’s schedules, after all everybody has to eat some time on Friday night. Consequently, Shabbos evening is one of the best opportunities to gather together friends, enjoy a nice meal, and explore life for real, food for the body and engaging Jewish wisdom for the soul. The JF User-friendly Shabbat Guide and the Shmooze Kit are at your disposal.
Nir Eyal (neyal@emory.edu), Winter ’99, and Sam Bregman had a group of eighteen (18) for Shabbos at Emory University last week. Response has been fantastic, and they are already planning future get-togethers.
Seth Goodman (sgoodman@wam.umd.edu), Winter ’99, and Michael Paul (mepaul@wam.umd.edu), Winter ’99, also hosted a Shabbos meal at University of Maryland. The excitement spilled over into the week, and the group decided to go to a talk this week on Torah and Science at the Aish Washington (DC) center.
Find out how easy it is; send them an email; and be the next to do Shabbos.
Plan a journey for you and your friends, a journey of self-exploration and growth. Journey deeply into Shabbos.
Have something you'd like to say? An article, a bad joke, a Mazel Tov? Send it in and we'll include it in the next issue. Our email address is
jf@aish.edu. Now here's the Weekly...
27Shvat, 5759
February 13, 1999GOOD MORNING
! An English professor wrote on the blackboard the words "WOMAN WITHOUT HER MAN IS NOTHING" and asked his students to punctuate it correctly. Men wrote: "Woman, without her man, is nothing." Women wrote: "Woman! Without her, man is nothing."Did you ever wonder what the world would be like without Judaism and the Jewish People? Paul Johnson, a noted historian did. In his book, History of the Jews, he wrote:
"One way of summing up 4,000 years of Jewish history is to ask ourselves what would have happened to the human race if Abraham had not been a man of great sagacity or if he had stayed in Ur and kept his higher notions to himself and no specific Jewish people had come into being. Certainly the world without the Jews would have been a radically different place.
Humanity might eventually have stumbled upon all the Jewish insights, but we cannot be sure. All the great conceptual discoveries of the intellect seem obvious and inescapable once they have been revealed, but it requires a special genius to formulate them for the first time. The Jews had this gift.
"To them (the Jews) we owe the idea of equality before the law, both divine and human, of the sanctity of life and the dignity of the human person, of the individual conscience and so of personal redemption; of the collective conscience and so of social responsibility; of peace as an abstract ideal and love as the foundation of justice and many other items which constitute the basic moral furniture of the human mind. Without the Jews, it might have been a much emptier place."
Mark Twain was also impressed by the Jews and wondered how they impacted the world:
– "Concerning The Jews," Harper's Magazine"If the statistics are right, the Jews constitute but one percent of the human race. It suggests a nebulous dim puff of stardust lost in the blaze of the Milky Way. Properly, the Jew ought hardly to be heard of, but he is heard of, has always been heard of. He is as prominent on the planet as any other people, and his commercial importance is extravagantly out of proportion to the smallness of his bulk. His contributions to the world's list of great names in literature, science, art, music, finance, medicine, and abstruse learning are also way out of proportion to the weakness of his numbers."
Aish HaTorah's Rabbi Kenneth Spiro has developed a new seminar, "WorldPerfect -- The Jewish Contribution to Civilization." It dramatically and entertainingly demonstrates how the Jewish people and the Torah ideas and ideals have changed the world. One leaves the seminar prouder of being a Jew and with a better understanding of how we have helped civilize the world.
The seminar is being offered around the world. To find out when a seminar will be held in your area -- or to arrange a seminar, contact Aish HaTorah's Discovery office, 718-376-2775 or discovery@aish.edu. For more about other Aish's seminars, check out www.aish.edu . For tapes call 1-800-VOICES 3
TORAH PORTION: Mishpatim, Exodus 21:1 - 24:18
One of the longest Torah portions containing 23 positive commandments and 30 negative precepts. Included are laws regarding: the Hebrew manservant and maidservant, manslaughter, murder, injuring a parent, kidnapping, cursing a parent, personal injury, penalty for killing a slave, personal damages, injury to slaves, categories of damages and compensatory restitution, culpability for personal property damage, seduction, occult practices, idolatry, oppression of widows, children and orphans.
The portion continues with the laws of: lending money, not cursing judges or leaders, tithes, first-born sons, justice, returning strayed animals, assisting the unloading of an animal fallen under its load, Sabbatical year, Shabbat, the Three Festivals (Pesach, Shavuot & Succot).
Mishpatim concludes with the promise from the Almighty to lead us into the land of Israel, safeguard our journey, ensure the demise of our enemies and guarantee our safety in the land -- if we uphold the Torah and do the mitzvot. Moses makes preparations for himself and for the people and then ascends Mt. Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments.
DVAR TORAH: based on Growth Through Torah by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin
If one damages another person, he must pay for the doctor bills, as the Torah states, "And he shall be healed."
The Talmud Bavli (Brochos 60a) derives from here the principle that one is obligated in a serious situation to consult with a doctor to be healed and not just wait for a miracle.
The Chozeh of Lublin, a great rabbi, commented that a doctor only has permission to heal. He does not have the right to give up hope or cause a person to despair of his situation. Even though a doctor's experience may lead him to conclude that his patient will not recover, the Almighty has the final say concerning a person's recovery. Never give up hope. There are plenty of people who have lived for many years after doctors have said that they would not get well. Seek the best medical care, pray and trust in G-d.
CANDLE LIGHTING: Jerusalem 4:46 Miami 5:54 :07 New York 5:09 LA 5:16 Hong Kong 6:01
Singapore 7:03 Guatemala 5:47
Honolulu 6:10 J'Burg 6:15 Melbourne 8:05 London 4:53 Moscow 5:08
"QUOTE OF THE WEEK": Don't be so worried about reputation that you forget about character
Shabbat Shalom,
Dedicated in Honor of Our Three Children
David Adam and Carly
By Joanne and Jeffrey Lynn
Compiled by Rabbi Josh Boretsky
Edited by Rabbi Chaim Dubin