Happy 40th to Neil & Buzz! Shabbat Shalom!! Jul 24, 2009
Rabbi Rafi Rank
Midway Jewish Center
56 Years Young: 1953-2009 !
THE CYBERSHUL
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cyber shul archives
This CyberShul has been dedicated by:
Gary, Rozy, Natty, & Jennie Anne Simson
and
Rafi, Ellen, Rami, Shuli & Jonah Rank
in honor of
Marvin & Millie Simson
on the occasion of their birthday (same day!)
and their 65th Wedding Anniversary--
Way to Go and Mazal Tov!
| Shabbat |
THaZON—The Shabbat of Vision, named after the first word of the Haftarah (the weekly reading from the Prophets) recited on this Shabbat. This Haftarah is Isaiah 1:1-27. Shabbat HaZON always precedes the fast day known as tishAH b’AV. |
| Parashah |
Devarim |
| Secular Date |
July 25, 2009 |
| Jewish Date |
4 Av 5769 |
| Shabbat Begins |
8:00 PM |
| Shabbat Ends |
9:02 PM |
| The Nine Days |
We are in that period known as the Nine Days which begin nine days prior to Tishah B’Av, the fast day commemorating the Temple’s destruction. The traditions during this period are to refrain from eating meat and drinking wine (except on Shabbat), and scheduling big parties, weddings, etc. |
| Upcoming Fast Day |
TiSHAH b’AV or the Ninth of Av. There are two major fasts on the Jewish calendar and this is one of them. As opposed to Yom Kippur, which is the White Fast, a fast on which we wear white to signify our intent to cleanse ourselves of sin, TiSHAH b’AV is known as the Black Fast. This fast commemorates the day on which both temples were destroyed, the first in 586 BCE and the second in 70 CE. The fast begins with sunset on Wednesday, July 29 and ends with sunset on Thursday July 30. We do not wear leather shoes, eat, drink, or engage in physical intimacy for that entire period. |
| MJCyber Shul Minyan |
1395 |
| Last Week’s Minyan |
1393 |
This Week’s Torah Reading
Devarim
DevarRIM is not only the name of this week’s Torah portion, but the name of the entire last book of the Torah. Its Greek name, Deuteronomy, means “repetition of the Law,” and in fact, the last book of the Torah does repeat many laws found in the first four books. The book consists of a number of Moses’s final addresses to the Israelites. He speaks to them in the eleventh month of the Israelites’ 40th year in the wilderness, or in other words, just days prior to his death. He talks about the initial journey, the challenge of ministering to so many people, and the need to create a hierarchy of leaders to help in the adjudication of disputes. He recalls the people’s fear in learning about the land and its inhabitants, the resentment they felt at having been taken from Egypt, and God’s subsequent punishment of them in permitting entry into the land only of their children. Moses reminds them of the Amorite military fiasco and the 38 years that they were consigned to the wilderness. Certain people occupied territories they were not to touch, including those of Esau’s descendants, the Moabites, and the Ammonites. Moses remembers the Israelite victories over Sihon, King of Heshbon, and Og, King of Bashan. Moses also notes that he encouraged Joshua, his successor, to have no fear of battle, for the Lord will battle for him and the Israelites.
A Shabbat Thought
The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.
~~ Heda Bejar ~~
Web Of The Week
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQNw5MA3DII
The Nine Days are a time when we remember the victimization of the Jewish people by both the Romans and the Babylonians. We no longer play the victim, and the Zionists of the twentieth century showed us how. Enjoy this video on Jews and bullets, by The History Channel.
Aural Torah
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UNVEILING…AT A WEDDING?
Dear Cyber Rav,
A couple weeks ago I attended the wedding of a niece whom I love dearly. The wedding was, as I suspected, a real tear-jerker for me, but I was surprised to see her walk down the aisle without a veil. Kosher? I’ve never seen it. When I asked my kid sister about this (bride’s mother), she said her daughter had bristled at the idea of covering her face. She and her friends determined that it was yet another instance of men forcing women to be invisible in the world. The rabbi said, “Lose the veil!”
I’m not the biggest feminist in the world, but I’m no shrinking violet. I’ll stand up for women’s rights sooner than my sisters, but this struck me as a bit over the top. I couldn’t wait to walk down the aisle in bride attire, veil included. I’m curious about your views in this matter.
Looking for a Cover Up
CYBER RAV ANSWERS
Dear Looking for a Cover Up,
Interesting! I, too, have encountered an increasing number of brides questioning the use of the veil.
The veil is part of the badecken ceremony during which the groom veils the bride and then the rabbi blesses the bride. The blessing is a very beautiful one: “O sister may you be fruitful and prosper…” and then the bride and groom are blessed with the threefold, priestly benediction (i.e., “May God bless you and protect you…”).
There are instances in Jewish history where brides were not veiled. The veil is in someway connected to huppah, the bridal canopy, which itself is a symbol of the future intimacy that the groom and bride will share together. Some rabbis believed that the canopy we so easily identify as a huppah wasn’t good enough and required the bride to wear a veil as the more powerful symbol of future physical intimacy. And so, in true rabbinic fashion, we tend to encourage both so that we have huppah lekhol hade’ot, a huppah that is a real huppah according to all opinions expressed on the matter.
The veil is also a symbol of tzeni’ut or modesty, an important Jewish value. I think I would be hard-pressed to argue that the veil is a symbol of female invisibleness, precisely because all the veils I have ever seen in these ceremonies, made of very sheer fabric, permit viewing the bride’s face. These are not the opaque veils of the Islamic world which we see in the media, though perhaps brides are responding to that as well. There is always a danger in saying symbol x = y, because symbol x invariably = y or z or a or f or q… You get my drift? Symbols are always interpreted on multiple levels and anyone who seeks to define one symbol with one interpretation is almost always wrong.
And so, if someone claims that the veil is a symbol of female invisibility, the rabbi might say “Lose the veil” knowing that the veil is only a minhag, a custom to begin with. But others might want the brides to broaden their view on the veil in the interest of preserving a time-honored tradition. Being a traditionalist, I do encourage use of the veil. I do believe that tzeniut is an important Jewish value that men and women ought to embrace. And ours is a tradition that certainly does not want women to be invisible, only respected and honored, whether at a ceremony as sacred as a wedding, or at any other time of day or night.
Rabbi Rafi Rank
CyberRav
Shabbat Shalom Everyone!!
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Updated July 12, 2006 
