Dear Friends,
The dinner committee has accomplished a lot of headway on the preparation for the Appreciation Dinner with NFL player Alan Veingrad on Sunday, Feb 27. But, we need your help! Please RSVP and reserve your ad early to avoid the last minute rush! There is also an added option to sponsor a student (who can not afford the entry). www.chabaduptown.org/dinner. You may get a call from one of our volunteers, we hope that you you can respond graciously and generously. Official invitations will be in your mailbox next week. Please let us know if you would like to join the committee as well.
Today was Tu B'Shevat ("the 15th of Shevat") which marks the beginning of a "New Year for Trees." This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. Legally, the "New Year for Trees" relates to the various tithes that must be separated from produce grown in the Holy Land. We mark the day by eating fruit, particularly from the "Seven Kinds" that are singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates). On this day we remember that "Man is a tree of the field" (Deuteronomy 20:19) and reflect on the lessons we can derive from our botanical analogue. For more on Tu B'Shevat go here.
Parshas Yisro - In a Nutshell
Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, hears of the great miracles which G-d performed for the people of Israel, and comes from Midian to the Israelite camp, bringing with him Moses' wife and two sons. Jethro advises Moses to appoint a hierarchy of magistrates and judges to assist him in the task of governing and administrating justice to the people.
The Children of Israel camp opposite Mount Sinai, where they are told that G-d has chosen them to be His "kingdom of priests" and "holy nation." The people respond by proclaiming, "All that G-d has spoken, we shall do."
On the sixth day of the third month (Sivan), seven weeks after the Exodus, the entire nation of Israel assembles at the foot of Mount Sinai. G-d descends on the mountain amidst thunder, lightning, billows of smoke and the blast of the shofar, and summons Moses to ascend.
G-d proclaims the Ten Commandments, commanding the people of Israel to believe in G-d, not to worship idols or take G-d's name in vain, to keep the Shabbat, honor their parents, and not to murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness or covet another's property. The people cry out to Moses that the revelation is too intense for them to bear, begging him to receive the Torah from G-d and convey it to them.
Shabbos Parshas Yisro - Ten Commandments
Friday, January 21
Services at 6:30 pm
Candle Lighting at 5:32 pm | RSVP for dinner
Shabbos, January 22
Preprayer Kabbala Study at 9:00 am
Services at 10:00 am with Torah Reading of the Ten Commandments
Followed by kiddush with best cholent...
Mincha Services at 5:35 pm
Maariv, Havdalla and Shabbos Ends at 6:28 pm
Living Torah Video
Looking forward to seeing you on Shabbos!
Rabbi Chaim & Chanie