Midway Jewish Center
56 Years Bold: 1953-2010 !
THE CYBERSHUL

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Syosset, NY 11791
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Shabbat Rosh Hodesh	Bo
Parashah	Bo
Secular Date	January 23, 2010
Jewish Date	8 Shevat 5770
Shabbat Begins	4:41pm
Shabbat Ends	5:43pm
MJCyber Shul Minyan	14017
Last Week’s Minyan	1416

TORAH READING

Bo

BO Two more plagues descend upon Egypt: 8) locusts and 9) darkness. The Israelites are commanded to take a year-old, blemish-free, male lamb, slaughter it, then smear the blood on the door posts and lintel of the home where the sacrifice will be eaten. The meat must be eaten with matzah and bitter herbs. When God sees the blood on the door post, He will “pasah” or “pass over” that house, sparing it from the terrible tenth plague: the killing of the firstborn. The essential mitzvot of Pesah or Passover are given: to remove all leaven from one’s home and to eat unleavened bread or matzot for seven days. The tenth plague strikes Egypt and Pharaoh finally demands that the Israelites leave the land unconditionally after 430 years of enslavement. God commands that the firstborn of both human beings and beasts be sanctified to Him.

A SHABBAT THOUGHT

A lie has speed,
but truth has endurance.

~~ Edgar Mohn  ~~

WEBS OF THE WEEK

Israel’s response to Haiti

Time to schep a little naches from what little Israel can do to help others in their time of need.

A WORD ABOUT HAITI

Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) Response
JDC is collecting funds to aid relief efforts for the victims of the earthquake on a non-sectarian basis. Damage assessment is underway, and it is extensive! JDC is turning to its partners on the ground, including the Red Cross and Caritas for immediate needs information. JDC is fully coordinated with the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) as well as Interaction in Washington D.C.

Donations are being accepted through United Synagogue, your may paste the following url into your browser to donate: www.uscj.org/donate/relief

If you prefer to send a check, please send to:
United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
1820 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
attention: Rabbi Paul Drazen--Haiti Disaster Relief.

AURAL TORAH

The Tefillin Terrorist

Just click on the picture on the left hear this week’s Aural Torah!

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GOTTA QUESTION?
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SEND YOUR QUESTIONS TO rafirank@mjc.org
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DEAR CYBERAV… I’VE GOTTA QUESTION

A Serious Question

Dear Cyber Rav,

I recently saw the Coen Brothers’ (love the Coen Brothers!) “A Serious Man” and could not help but wonder what you would have said to the protagonist, Larry Gopnik, whose encounters with three rabbis left him without answers as to why so many bad things were happening to him. I loved the film but also felt that the rabbis were portrayed in a poor light. What would you have told Gopnik to soothe his aching heart?

Coen Head

CYBER RAV ANSWERS

Dear Coen Head Extraordinaire,

I liked the movie too—but not its theology.

I think to characterize the world as random is an exaggeration. In fact, we can predict many aspects of life having discovered so much of God's blue print for the universe--and there is more waiting for us to discover. To the extent that we can predict, we can also make wise decisions about our wellbeing and welfare. And to the extent that we are free agents, we can also ignore the knowledge we have and make stupid or unwise decisions. My suspicion is that religious people--truly religious people and not those who are just going through the motions--probably fare better in life because their faith moves them to make better decisions--I suspect that they drink less, take fewer drugs, are more faithful to their spouses, avoid partying all night long, veer away from overly risky businesses and activities, etc. And I think that in this way, God does protect them and all of us who choose this conservative way of life.

And then there is this very blind part of nature which runs over us from time to time as well as the impact we suffer from other people whose stupidity or unwise decisions inflict pain on others, if not death itself. We are all in the same boat so if you choose not to drill a hole in the bottom of it, that will not save you if your fellow traveler decides to drill a hole into it on his side. You sink together. And that is the strongest reason for us to kindly proselytize, to urge others to make wise decisions, if not for themselves then certainly for the people around them.

My sense is this: We don't believe in God in order that He protect us from the evil that may befall us. We believe in God precisely because the evil befalls us in spite or our best efforts, our solid decisions, and our wise choices. We believe in God because we dare not divorce ourselves from a power greater than ourselves and which moves us to persevere and prevail over the garbage that we so often encounter. When people give up, when all they see is the powerlessness of themselves, I do believe that their lives deteriorate. And there have even been psychological and scientifically sound studies done on the general greater success of people who have this sense of optimism and hope. These are the two principal gifts that a loving God grants to us.

So, in a nut shell, that is what I probably would have answered our hapless physicist professor. Have faith in God, but depend on yourself. We are more in charge of our own fate than we can ever imagine.

I hope this helps.

Rabbi Rafi Rank
CyberRav

Shabbat Shalom Everyone!!

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