Weekly Announcements
Ahavat Yisrael of Wesley Hills Announcements
Shemos
Shabbos Mevarchim
Jan 8 – Jan 15
24 Tevet – 2 Shvat
For all minyanim the wearing of a mask which fully covers the mouth and nose is required at all times. This includes children as well, no exceptions. [If you need to remove your mask, please step outside of the Shul and restore it before returning to the Shul.]
When selecting a seat in Shul, unless the person near you is part of your household, leave no less that 6 feet of space between you, merely skipping a seat is not sufficient and jeopardizes both of you. The reason that we have left two or three chairs together in places is for families to sit together, please be mindful.
Note: Rabbi Bush's cell phone was not working this week , in case you called or texted it likely did not get picked up and could not be responded to, please feel free to try again. Additionally all contacts were lost, if you want him to have your cell number please text him and just leave your name.
Mazel Tov to Marion and Yak Ben Jacob on a baby girl Frances Stella to their children Tyler and Lisa Ben Jacob
SCHEDULE At Shul & Home
FRIDAY (1/8)
Shacharis: 8:00 AM
Mincha and Candle lighting: 4:27 PM
SHABBAT MEVARCHIM (1/9)
Shacharis : 9:00 AM (with R. Yishmael, say brachos at home)
Latest time for shma: 9:42 AM
Mincha: 4:10 PM
Family Seudah Shilishis at home
Shabbos Ends: 5:31 PM
Maariv: 5:37 PM
SUNDAY (1/10)
Shacharis 8:00 AM
Rabbi’s Gemara Shiur via zoom: 8:50 AM https://zoom.us/j/3812539596
Mincha/Maariv 4:35 PM
MONDAY – THURSDAY (1/11 – 1/4)
Maariv: 9:00 PM
Wednesday: 8:15 PM Parsha Preview on zoom https://zoom.us/j/3812539596
Thursday: Rosh Chodesh
Dvar Torah & Thoughts on Shmos
Rabbi Asher Bush
Rav Hirsch made the striking observation that in the chapter dealing with the birth of Moshe no names are used, as it speaks of “a man” from Levi who married a “daughter of Levi”, had a baby (who is seemingly not given a name), and when this baby is placed in the river he is watched by “his sister.” It is only in a later chapter where all these names are clearly spelled out. The point, as Rav Hirsch explains, is that it could have been anyone, from any family, any Jew, who could be the great leader who saved them. It did not have to be Moshe and did not have to be a person from a particular background, it was based on the life choices that he made and the way he lived his life that are the reasons that God found him worthy for this role. The fact that he indeed had a most unique upbringing certainly served him well, but had he not gone out to see his brethren or just not cared that much, it would have been somebody else and not him.
It is in this light that examining what we do see and know about the early life of Moshe becomes so important. First and foremost, the fact that he did not grow up as insider in the mainstream Jewish community did not disqualify him, perhaps it made him more qualified since things that others may have taken for granted or just accepted, he did not feel bound by. This was seen in the great Rabbi Akiva of the Mishna and more recently in the late Rabbi Jonathan Sacks.
Event number one of course was his protecting his fellow Jew, a stranger, but clearly a victim. In describing the events right before it says ויפן כה וכה וירא כי אין איש. The simple meaning being he looked around to make sure that he would not be seen (and get in trouble) for his involvement. This however becomes a difficult explanation as the next day his actions seem to be well known. Accordingly, it can best be explained to mean that he looked around and saw that nobody was doing anything, so he realized that he needed to step up. So aside from caring about his fellow Jew and even risking himself to help a stranger, Moshe was not looking to be the center of attention or to be the leader, it was something he did because there was no one else willing to get involved.
The next day he breaks up a fight between two Jews. Rather than them appreciating that he has taken up their cause, they both turn on him. Yes, a part of leadership is not being appreciated, even resented; if one is looking for “pleasure”, try ice cream instead! And it is this aspect of his leadership is the hardest part, as on one hand it means looking at his brothers and finding fault if need be, but not judging them more harshly than appropriate either so that they should always know just how much he really does love and care for them.
And the third and last event spelled out in the Torah is his initial encounter with the daughters of Yisro. They are being chased away by some shepherds, and he steps up to protect them. This story is perhaps the most striking of all, as nobody here was “his people” and he could have simply ignored the events as being irrelevant to his life, but he would not do that. Every person in need, Jew and non-Jew was of concern to Moshe Rabbeinu. Perhaps even more striking is the fact that he now finds himself in Midyan is due to his having gotten involved and helped, so it would be really easy for him to rationalize that he had already gotten burned once, and once is more than enough so the next time strangers need a hand, especially in a fight, he would keep far away. But that is not Moshe, and indeed the phrase ‘no good deed goes unpunished’ was something he understood and accepted.
And of course, in all these cases he was reaching out to help the oppressed, to take up the cause of the victim. While we would expect nothing less from the man we know as Moshe, given that he grew up in royal circumstances care for the victims and the vulnerable is not a value he would have seen in that house.
While the life of Moshe may seem so far above us, as mentioned above, any Jew could have become Moshe. We have no royalty or nobility, and as the Talmud mentions, Torah knowledge is not something that can be inherited like money, so one can come from a very learned home and not be learned, and one can come from a home without Torah knowledge and become a Talmid Chacham. And so too with chesed, fine middos, piety, devotion to Klal Yirael, each of these special parts of Torah life is an option for every Jew, no special family name needed, no titles, no prerequisites, only a willing heart and a committed life based on making good choices, something available to all.