Midway Jewish Center
56 Years Young: 1953-2009 !
THE CYBERSHUL

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This Week’s Torah Reading

Emor

eMOR begins with the restrictions a koHEN (priest) must abide by. The koHEN may not: mourn for anyone but the closest relatives; shave his head; or marry a divorcee or widow. The officiating koHEN cannot be blind or lame or have any other physical defect. Sacred donations may not be used by a common Israelite, and even a koHEN must use such donations only in a state of purity. Israel's animal offerings must also be free of defect. Injured or maimed animals are not permitted. No animal may be slaughtered on the same day with its young. The paraSHAH also reviews the Jewish calendar, urging the people to faithfully observe Shabbat, Pesah, the days between Pesah and Shavu'ot known as the Omer, Shavu'ot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot. Finally, the paraSHAH concludes with the law of the mekaLEL or blasphemer, that is, one who curses God. He is stoned by all those who heard the blasphemy. Capital punishment is sanctioned as is that famous law: "eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Shabbat Thought

Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters. .

~~ Nathaniel Emmons ~~

Web Of The Week

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO2NqMeOSuo

You’ll be shocked at whom this Egyptian Islamic cleric thinks that mythological siren on the Starbucks logo really is…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bgeX_8tBCY

The problem with some seders is that they are too mechanical… Check this one out and you’ll see what we mean!

Aural Torah

Run In With Iran

Click on the link to hear the CyberShul!

AIPAC.org

 LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE IRAN SANCTIONS BILL

House and Senate lawmakers have introduced legislation that would reinforce American diplomatic efforts with Iran with the threat of tougher sanctions if Iran rejects U.S. overtures and continues to enrich uranium in defiance of the international community. The Iran Refined Petroleum Sanctions Act (IRPSA) would limit Iran's ability to import and produce refined petroleum products by requiring the president to impose sanctions on companies providing refined petroleum to Iran or helping Iran expand its own refining capacity. IRPSA would limit Iran's access to and raise the price for refined petroleum within Iran. This could have a dramatic effect on the Iranian economy because Iran imports about 40 percent of its refined petroleum. The legislation was introduced in the House on April 30 by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and in the Senate on April 28 by a broad group of 27 senators. The lead Democrat on the bill is Sen. Evan Bayh (IN) and the lead Republican is Sen. Jon Kyl (AZ).

Call your Congresspeople and Senators--

Ask them to cosponsor it and if they have, thank them!!
It takes 5 minutes and is important

Easy to find out how to contact them at http://capwiz.com/aipac/directory/congdir.tt

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MAY GOD MAKE YOU LIKE… LARRY, MOE AND CURLY?

Dear CyberRav,

One specific issue that came up today was about the Blessing of the Children and who Ephraim and Menashe were, why we bless our children to be like them, and why separate blessings for boys and girls. The girls, as you know, are blessed by stating that they be like Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Leah. I’m stumped

I'm not sure if we can ever answer the question, "Why Ephraim and Menashe?" as opposed to some other upstanding Jews, but first let’s clarify who they were—Jospeh’s kids. He had two boys. When it comes to the girls, we naturally think of female role models and the four matriarchs certainly fill the bill. But then why wouldn’t we bless the boys by praying that they become like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? Hmmm… I once heard a very wonderful explanation for why using Ephraim and Menashe which was pretty powerful. It went like this: Ephraim and Menashe are the first two brothers recorded in the Torah who didn't either hate or kill each other. Think of their forebears

Cain and Able  - Cain killed Able
Isaac and Ishmael - They couldn’t get along
Ya'akov and Esau - Esau wanted to kill Ya’akov
Joseph and Brothers - The brothers sold Joseph into slavery

Whew—makes you appreciate your own family—yes? But Ephraim and Menashe--these two get along. So when we say, May God make you like these two, we are saying that you are a child who should be accepting of others, loving, not jealous or envious, etc.

And as for the little girls, they get to be like the four matriarchs, who are all pretty impressive in their own right, particularly Rebecca, a real power house. So we wish our children both power and menschlichkeit (being decent).

Ken yirbu—And may we give birth to lots of Jewish babies for as you know, the Jewish people in North America suffer from negative population growth.

Rabbi Rafi Rank
CyberRav

Shabbat Shalom Everyone!!

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