Thursday, March 25, 2010

Radical Vegetable Therapy

LAST CHANCE TO SELL CHOMETZ - PESACH TIMES - see below
 
Question of the Week:
 

What is the meaning behind the Karpas - the vegetable dipped in salt water at the beginning of the Seder? There seems to be no explanation to it at all, we just eat it!

Answer:

The Karpas is perhaps the most enigmatic part of the Seder. But its message is the most vital one for the entire Pesach experience. It comes right at the beginning of the evening, for without it you can't even start the Seder.

The Haggadah instructs us to take a vegetable, dip it in salt water, make the blessing "Blessed are You G-d...Creator of the fruit of the ground," and eat it.

Any vegetable can be used for Karpas, as long as it fits the following two criteria:

1.    It must be a "fruit of the ground", as opposed to fruit of the tree.

2.    It must not a bitter herb, such as the those eaten later on at the Seder for Maror

If we understand the inner meaning of these two requirements, we will grasp the secret of the Karpas.

A tree is a plant that remains standing year after year. You pick this year's fruits, and next year the very same tree bears new fruit, on the same old branches that grow from the same old trunk.

Not so with vegetables. When you pick potatoes, celery or onions, that stalk is gone forever. The next vegetable will have to grow from the ground, another entirely new stalk has to grow from the roots. This year's potatoes are a completely new plant, they didn't grow on the same stalk as last year's. The old has gone and made way for the new.    

Karpas must be a fruit of the ground, because it sets the tone for the entire Seder night. Pesach is all about new beginnings, taking the first step toward spiritual freedom, experiencing the exodus of the soul from the slavery of bad habits.  To achieve this freedom the human, like the fruit of the ground, needs to renew and rejuvenate, to grow, develop, refresh and reinvent itself from the ground up.

Indeed, the very first man was named Adam because he too was created from the dust of the ground - Adamah. And so the Karpas' message of renewal is more than just a nice concept, it is an integral part of being human. We too have the power of self-reinvention. We are not stuck in the self of our past. We are not bound by our previous mistakes or past failures. We can start again. We just need a bit of vegetable therapy.

This does not mean being callous or dismissive of our past mistakes. We must take responsibility for them and be truly regretful. We may even shed a tear for our wrongdoings, represented by the salt water. That's fine. Tears are healthy, when they are an expression of sincere emotion. But now, at the opening of the Seder, is not the time to focus too much on our difficult past. We will do that later, when we eat the Maror. But we can't eat bitter herbs for Karpas. If we want to renew ourselves, we need to start with being open and positive, not bitter and resentful.

And so we sit at the Seder, read the same Haggadah, sing the same songs and eat the same Matzah. But before all that we eat the Karpas, to remind us that while things may seem the same they actually aren't. Tonight you are opening a fresh chapter, turning a new page. It is a new you reading the Haggadah from today's perspective, not last year's.  So let the story of freedom speak to you this year with freshness and originality, like never before. Let the Seder night be the launching pad for a new you.

Good Shabbos and a happy, kosher and uplifting Pesach,
Rabbi Moss

For more info about Pesach see www.passover.net

 

To subscribe email rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au

SELL YOUR CHOMETZ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

In order to avoid owning any products that aren't Kosher for Pesach, we sell our non-Pesach food for the duration of the festival. To arrange this, please fill in your name (signature not required) and all addresses (work/holiday home included) on the form below and email to rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au by Sunday March 28.
 
I, the undersigned, fully empower and permit Rabbi Moss to act in my place and stead, and on my behalf to sell all Chometz possessed by me, knowingly or unknowingly as defined by the Torah and Rabbinic Law (e.g. Chometz, possible Chometz, and all kinds of Chometz mixtures).  Also Chometz that tends to harden and adhere to the inside surfaces of pans, pots, or cooking utensils, the utensils themselves, and all kinds of live animals and pets that have been eating Chometz and mixtures thereof.  This includes all above mentioned Chometz that will come into my possession from now until Erev Pesach. He is also empowered to lease all places wherein Chometz owned by me may be found, particularly at the address/es listed below and elsewhere.
 
Rabbi Moss has full right to appoint any agent or substitute in his stead and said substitute shall have full right to sell and lease as provided herein.  He also has the full power and right to act as he deems fit and proper in accordance with all the details of the Bill of Sale used in the transaction to sell all my Chometz, Chometz mixtures, etc., as provided herein.  This power is in conformity with all Torah, Rabbinic and Civil laws.

Name:
Address(es):

NEFESH SERVICES - 54 Roscoe St Bondi Beach 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Friday
Mincha 6:10pm
6:30pm - 7:15pm Shabbos Service with kids program followed by Kiddush sponsored by Moshe David in honour of his father's yorzheit, and special lechaim for the birth of Tali Maya Ereira, sponsored by her parents Ben and Fran
 
Saturday
9am Class on Weekly Parsha
10am -12:15pm Morning Service, guest speaker Rabbi Michoel Gourarie, followed by Kiddush in honour of the Bar Mitzvah of Jason Spyrides
 
Early Mincha 6:15pm folllowed by Seuda Shlishis in honour of the wedding of Armand Borovik and Kim Blumenthal, Maariv 7:36pm
 
Sunday
8am Shachris
 
 
 

PESACH AT NEFESH

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

 

Monday March 29 Yomtov

(candlelighting 6:38pm)

Firstborn sons must hear a siyum

Finish eating chometz by 11:02am

Finish burning chometz by 12:01pm

Mincha 6:50pm followed by Torah thoughts, Pesach Evening Service 7:25 - 7:45pm

 

Tuesday March 30 Yomtov

(candlelighting after 7:32pm)

Morning Service 10:00am, Mincha 6:50pm followed by Torah thoughts, Pesach Evening Service 7:25 - 7:45pm 

Wednesday March 31 Yomtov

Morning Service 10:00am, Mincha 6:50pm followed by Maariv, Yomtov ends 7:30pm

 

Thursday, Friday, Sunday April 1-3 Chol Hamoed

Shachris 8am (no Tefillin)

 

Shabbos Chol Hamoed April 2

(candlelighting 6:33pm)

Friday Mincha 6:10pm, Shabbos Service 6:30-7:15pm

Saturday Morning service 10am - 12:30pm, Mincha 6:25pm followed by Maariv, Shabbos ends 7:26pm

 

NOTE: DAYLIGHT SAVING ENDS SATURDAY NIGHT

 

Sunday April 3 Yomtov Shvii Shel Pesach

(candlelighting 5:30pm)

Mincha 5:40pm, Maariv 6:10pm

 

Monday April 4 Yomtov Shvii/Acharon shel Pesach

(candlelighting after 6:24pm)

Morning Service 10am - 12:30pm, Mincha 5:40pm, Maariv 6:20pm

 

Tuesday April 5 Yomtov Acharon shel Pesach

Morning Service 10am, Yizkor 11:30am

Mincha 5:15pm followed by Moshiach Seudah for men in shul

Moshiach Seudah for women 5:15pm at 128 Wellington St Bondi

Yomtov ends 6:22pm (wait at least half an hour before accessing sold chometz)

 
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nefesh office | 45 bellevue rd | bellevue hill | NSW | 2023 | Australia

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Are Jews a Nation Divided?

PESACH MIND SPINNERS this Monday see below
 
Question of the Week:

 

I am Ashkenazi (Jew of Eastern European descent), and my wife is Sefardi (an Oriental Jew). She grew up eating rice on Pesach, which my family custom would never allow. Every Pesach we have the same discussion: how can it be that one group of Jews can eat rice on Pesach and another group can't? Aren't we all the same religion? Isn't this an example of how the Torah can be interpreted in so many ways, and there is no one true Judaism?

Answer:

Actually, when you compare the way Ashkenazi and Sefardi Jews celebrate Pesach, you will be astounded not by the differences, but by the similarities. The discrepancies are so minor and external that they just prove the rule - we are one people with one Torah.

Jews are forbidden by the Torah to eat or even own leavened products on Pesach. This means any product made from the five grains (wheat, barley, spelt, rye, oats), other than Matzah, cannot be eaten or in your possession for the eight days of Passover. The Jews of Eastern Europe took on an extra stringency, and forbade rice and several other foods on Pesach. Although rice is not one of the five grains, it was often grown together with wheat, and the two could become intermingled. Also, rice can be ground into flour and then confused with wheat flour. For these reasons rice was not eaten on Pesach by European Jews.

The Jews of the Orient however did not take on this custom. Perhaps the conditions of growing and storing those products in their lands did not warrant this extra precaution. This means that the Seder menu of a Jewish family from Morocco or Yemen will vastly differ from the fare served at a table of German or Hungarian Jews. The former will eat rice, peas, beans and corn, the latter will not.

But that's just the menu. If you look at every other aspect of the Seder, they are almost identical from one community to another. To illustrate this, imagine the following mind experiment:

Take a 9th century Persian Jew, and transport him through time and space to 19th century Poland. After traversing the globe and jumping a thousand years forward, he arrives in a time and a land that are totally foreign to him. He walks the streets in a daze, completely lost and out of place.

But take him to a Seder, and he would feel completely at home. His host family may look different in colour and dress to his own, they may eat Ashkenazi foods that are unfamiliar to his Sefardi palate, but the Seder itself would be exactly the same as his family Seder back home. He would hear the children ask the same four questions that his own children ask him. He would eat the same Matzah and bitter herbs, drink the same four cups of wine, read the same prayers and biblical quotes. Even the songs, while sung to different tunes, would have the same Hebrew lyrics.

Most importantly, he would hear the exact same story, the story every Jewish family has told every year for over three thousand years, the story of our common ancestors who were slaves in Egypt until G-d set them free.

This is nothing short of amazing. Two thousand years of exile has not weakened our inner connection. Dispersal across the globe has not loosened our bonds of shared history and united destiny. With all the fragmentation and factionalism that we all complain about, we are still one people. This is felt at Pesach more than ever.

Rather than focusing on the superficial disparities between communities, look at our internal connection. We are all telling the same story. G-d took us out of Egypt to make us one nation, united by the Torah, our common history and our common goal. Some eat rice, some don't, and it matters not. We are one family, the children of Israel.

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Moss

 

To subscribe email rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au


Pesach Mind Spinners - power-lectures Monday March 22 at Nefesh 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pesach Mind Spinners

SELL YOUR CHOMETZ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

In order to avoid owning any products that aren't Kosher for Pesach, we sell our non-Pesach food for the duration of the festival. To arrange this, please fill out the form below and email to rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au by Sunday March 28.
 
I, the undersigned, fully empower and permit Rabbi Moss to act in my place and stead, and on my behalf to sell all Chometz possessed by me, knowingly or unknowingly as defined by the Torah and Rabbinic Law (e.g. Chometz, possible Chometz, and all kinds of Chometz mixtures).  Also Chometz that tends to harden and adhere to the inside surfaces of pans, pots, or cooking utensils, the utensils themselves, and all kinds of live animals and pets that have been eating Chometz and mixtures thereof.  This includes all above mentioned Chometz that will come into my possession from now until Erev Pesach. He is also empowered to lease all places wherein Chometz owned by me may be found, particularly at the address/es listed below and elsewhere.
 
Rabbi Moss has full right to appoint any agent or substitute in his stead and said substitute shall have full right to sell and lease as provided herein.  He also has the full power and right to act as he deems fit and proper in accordance with all the details of the Bill of Sale used in the transaction to sell all my Chometz, Chometz mixtures, etc., as provided herein.  This power is in conformity with all Torah, Rabbinic and Civil laws.

Name:
Address(es):

NEFESH SERVICES - 54 Roscoe St Bondi Beach 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Friday
Mincha 6:10pm
6:30pm - 7:15pm Shabbos Service with kids program followed by Kiddush sponsored by Friends of Nefesh
 
Saturday
9am Class on Weekly Parsha
10am -12:15pm Morning Service with kids program followed by Kiddush in honour of the wedding anniversary of Ilan and Virginia Gross and the birthday of Noach Kessel
Laws of Pesach Shiur 6:00pm
Mincha 6:45pm folllowed by Seuda Shlishis and Maariv
 
Sunday
8am Shachris followed by breakfast and Beginner's Talmud
 
Thursday
7am Shachris
 
 

PESACH SERVICES:

Monday March 29

Mincha 6:50pm, Pesach Evening Service 7:25pm

Tuesday March 30

Pesach Morning Service 10:00am, Mincha 6:50pm, Maariv 7:25pm

Wednesday March 31

Pesach Morning Service 10:00am, Mincha 6:50pm, Maariv 7:30pm


 
ALL WELCOME 
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This email was sent to shmuly77d@gmail.com by rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au.
nefesh office | 45 bellevue rd | bellevue hill | NSW | 2023 | Australia

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Can I Keep My Maiden Name?

Question of the Week:

 

What does Jewish law say about a woman taking a man's surname after marriage? Some girls nowadays refuse to change their name to the man's. Not sure if the man really cares, or if he has a say, but I wanted the Jewish take on it.

 

Answer:

 

Family names are a recent thing for Jews. For most of our history we used first names only. You were called by your own name, the son or daughter of your father's or mother's name, like Rachel the daughter of David.

 

Surnames were formally forced upon us in Europe about 200 years ago. And so the tailor's family name became Schneider, which means tailor, and the short guy took on the name Klein, and David's children became the Davidovitzes.

 

For the most part Jewish law did not utilise these names, and so the question of keeping a maiden name after marriage was never discussed by the rabbis. This was a question of secular law, not Jewish. But even where there is no Jewish law, there is a Jewish attitude.

 

Getting married means creating a oneness out of two people. Having a family means extending that oneness to our children. The Torah says that husband and wife become one flesh, and our children are the tangible expression of that oneness.

 

It would seem apt that this unity should be reflected in the family name. If the husband has one surname, the wife another, and then the kids perhaps a third, this does not reflect the togetherness and unity that a family structure is supposed to represent.

 

Of course one option is to hyphenate. But for the next generation this will lead to absurdity: if Joseph Cohen-Brown marries Josephine Jones-Levy, will they become the Cohen-Brown-Jones-Levys?

 

Keeping a uniform system is the best way to avoid conflict. And so there is reason to say that the husband's name should be taken. In Jewish law, soul identity follows the mother, but tribal affiliation follows the male line. A surname, which identifies which clan you belong to, would logically go after the male.

 

For someone to give up their name can be challenging. It can feel like giving up a part of their identity. But if that's what it takes to create a sense of family unity, it is a small ask. After all, starting a family will require many more selfless sacrifices for the greater good of others. That's the challenge of family life, and that's its beauty.

 

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Moss

 

To subscribe email rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au


Pesach Mind Spinners - power-lectures Monday March 22 at Nefesh 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pesach Mind Spinners

PRE-PESACH CLASSES www.bina.com.au  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kabbalah: Get to Know Your Ego with Rabbi Moss for Men and Women

Tuesdays March 16-23 8:15pm- 9:30pm at 54 Roscoe St, Bondi

 

Haggadah Insights with Rabbi Michoel Gourarie for Women

Tuesday March 16 9:30am - 10:30am at 45 Bellevue Rd, Bellevue Hill

 

Practical Laws of Pesach with Rabbi Michoel Gourarie for Women

Tuesday March 16 7:45pm - 8:30pm at 45 Bellevue Rd, Bellevue Hill

 

Medicine and Pesach with Rabbi Yaacov Chaiton for Men and Women

Wednesday March 17 8:15pm - 9:15pm at 45 Bellevue Rd, Bellevue Hill

 

Character Development: The Four Answers with Rabbi Michoel Gourarie for Women

Thursday March 18 9:20pm - 10:15am at 45 Bellevue Rd, Bellevue Hill

 

Lunch in the City: Haggadah Insights with Rabbi Aron Moss for Men and Women

Thursday March 18 1:00pm - 2:00pm at Arnold Bloch Leibler Level 24, Chifley Tower

 

 

and much more at www.bina.com.au

 

 

NEFESH SERVICES - 54 Roscoe St Bondi Beach 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Friday
Mincha 6:10pm
6:30pm - 7:15pm Shabbos Service with kids program followed by Kiddush sponsored by Friends of Nefesh
 
Saturday
9am Class on Weekly Parsha
10am -12:15pm Morning Service with kids program followed by Kiddush in honour of the wedding of Saul Judelman and Catherine Ashes 
Laws of Pesach Shiur 6:00pm
Mincha 6:55pm folllowed by Seuda Shlishis and Maariv
 
Sunday
8am Shachris followed by breakfast and Beginner's Talmud
 
Thursday
7am Shachris
 
ALL WELCOME 
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This email was sent to shmuly77d@gmail.com by rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au.
nefesh office | 45 bellevue rd | bellevue hill | NSW | 2023 | Australia

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Do I Know You From Somewhere?

"Rabbi, you are promoting bigotry and hatred in your article 'Is Intermarriage Good for the Jews'" - read comments and join the debate here
 
Question of the Week:

 

If I ever want to find a wife, I think I have to leave town. I know all the Jewish girls here from school days, and none of them interest me. I don't go to synagogue to meet people, because I was never very into Judaism. But I do go to parties, and see the same old faces every time. What can I do if I already know everyone?

 

Answer:

 

You remind me of the guy who was walking down the street and saw a familiar face. "You're Mark, aren't you? Remember me? We went to kindergarten together!"

 

"My name isn't Mark", was the response.

 

"Listen, I haven't seen you in thirty years, but you look exactly the same. Are you sure you're not Mark?"

 

"I don't know you."

 

He couldn't believe someone could look so much like Mark but not be Mark. Then it dawned on him. If that was Mark, he would have grown up too...

 

People change. The fact that you knew someone ten years ago has little relevance to today. You are not the same person today as you were when you were sixteen, and you wouldn't appreciate people seeing you now as you were then. Well, everyone else has grown up too.

 

And you can't always rely on your views from back then either. As you develop, you may find the friends of your youth have little in common with you, while you may have become more aligned with the very people you used to avoid. The things that excited you ten years ago are not the things that still excite you now. Otherwise we would all be firemen and ballet dancers.

 

Just as we mature, so must our view of the world around us. We have to be ready to drop outdated opinions, and take a fresh look around us.

 

Another example of this is our view of Judaism. There are many people who hold on to a negative view of Judaism developed in their youth. This may have been based on bad experiences - a boring Hebrew teacher, a hypocritical rabbi, or a mean religious relative. Or we may simply have not enjoyed studying Torah and going to shule, it just didn't grab us, or it felt like a burden forced upon us by our parents when other kids were having fun. So at some point we opted out of Jewish life. That may have seemed like the right reaction at the time. But that doesn't mean it is still right.

 

As a mature person, we can re-engage with Judaism from a whole new angle. We can come to realise that bad experiences of the past can be left in the past, and individuals don't necessarily represent the whole. What seemed irrelevant and uninteresting then may be inspiring and uplifting now. The view of Judaism we developed at age twelve is probably due for a review. As a mature person, we may realise there really is something there for us.

 

So when you see an old face, don't forget that they grew up too. Meet them as the person they are now, not the way you remember them. And approach Judaism in the same way. You can revisit it, like an old acquaintance that you never really appreciated. Who knows, you might just fall in love.

 

Good Shabbos,

Rabbi Moss

 

To subscribe email rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au


Pesach Mind Spinners - power-lectures 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Pesach Mind Spinners
CLASSES www.bina.com.au  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
New Kabbalah Series - Getting to Know Your Ego - who is me? 
For Men and Women with Rabbi Moss
Tuesdays March 2 - 23, 8:15 - 9:30pm at Nefesh, 54 Roscoe St Bondi
 
Character Development - Family Changes - How to handle changes in family dynamics such as: in-law relationships, adult children, elderly parents, grandparents and grandchildren
Thursdays 9:20am - 10:30am, 4 February - 18 March
for women with Rabbi Gourarie at 45 Bellevue Rd

Lunch in the City - Jewish Views on the News - A Torah outlook on current events
Thursdays 1:00pm - 2:00pm Begins 4 February
For Men and Women with Rabbi Moss
Arnold Bloch Leibler, Level 24, Chifley Tower, 2 Chifley Square, Sydney CBD
 
and much more at www.bina.com.au
 
 
NEFESH SERVICES - 54 Roscoe St Bondi Beach 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Friday
Mincha 6:10pm
6:30pm - 7:15pm Shabbos Service with kids program
 
Saturday
9am Class on Weekly Parsha
10am -12:15pm Morning Service with kids program followed by Kiddush in honour of the wedding of Michael Kresner and Lauren Cohen
Lechaim in honour of Adam Ensley's Bar Mitzvan anniversary
Laws of Pesach Shiur 6:05pm
Mincha 7:05pm folllowed by Seuda Shlishis and Maariv
 
Sunday
8am Shachris followed by breakfast and Beginner's Talmud
 
Thursday
7am Shachris
 
ALL WELCOME 
Safe Unsubscribe
This email was sent to shmuly77d@gmail.com by rabbimoss@nefesh.com.au.
nefesh office | 45 bellevue rd | bellevue hill | NSW | 2023 | Australia