Mailing List Service Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello, our dear friends: In this issue: * Sad news * Torah Portion of the Week Re'eh This week is a jam-packed portion. It begins with a choice: "I set before you a blessing and a curse. The blessing: if you obey the commandments of God...; the curse if you do not ... and you follow other gods." * What Is Special About The Hebrew Month Of Elul? Sunday, August 19th, and Monday, August 20th, are the two days of Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the new Hebrew month of Elul. This is a very special month in the Jewish year... * Recipe of the week: Once again, something special: Potatoes with mushrooms for a vegetarians and mushrooms lovers! ______________________________________________________________ Sorry, but we have to start with a sad news. _____________________________________ As we all know, suicide bombing in central Jerusalem pizza parlor happened on Thursday, August 9, 2001. At least 19 people were killed and nearly 130 wounded. Five members of one family and six children were killed. It was the deadliest attack in the city since the intifada began last September. Among the 19 dead were Israelis and tourists, including a man, 60, from Brazil and a woman, 31, from New Jersey. Shoshana Greenbaum, the teacher from Bais Yaakov School of Passiac, New Jersey, died for Kiddish HaShem. May HaShem avenge her death, as only He can. Mr. Shmuel Greenbaum is sitting shiva for his wife, Shoshana, at the home of his rav, Rabbi Binyamin Ruttner, 927 East 12th Street, near Avenue I, Brooklyn, New York. The contact phone number is (718)252-2521. Shacharis is at 6:45, Mincha at 7:30pm, and Maariv at 9:00pm. at the above address. He is getting up on Thursday, August 16, 2001 approximately 8:30am If you can pay a visit to the grieving husband, please do not hesitate to come. If you cant find a words to express your sympathy, please read this http://aish.com/literacy/lifecycle/Comforting_the_Pained.asp. This can help you. _____________________________________ A group of 20 friends were vacationing together as they often do, this time in Los Vegas. 12 of them decided to take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. They split the group in two helicopters. For no apparant reason, one helicopter crashed leaving 5 of the Orthodox Jewish friends dead and one critically injured. Please pray for refua-shelema (health recovery) of Chana bas Esther, the only survivor of the helicopter crash over Grand Canyon. _____________________________________ Finally, baruch Hashem, people attended a Brith-Mila of Yaakov Katzin. It was this Tuesday. "...Miraculously, and with the help of the doctors, nurses and prayers of many people around the world, baby Yaakov, who we named on the day he should have been circumcised, pulled through and 4 weeks later we are now home with him and planning a "bris" for this week, Tuesday. ..." Sarah Katzin "Thank you all for your help and prayers and please do continue tefilos for Yaakov ben Sarah. Tizku lemitzvoth" Rabbi Arye Katzin _____________________________________ May Hashem send us only good news. ______________________________________________________________ Torah Portion of the Week Re'eh. Dvar Torah based on Growth Through Torah by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin The Torah states, "After the Almighty, your God, shall you walk, and Him shall you fear, and His commandments you shall observe and to His voice shall you hearken, and Him shall you serve and to Him shall you cleave" (Deuteronomy 13:5). The Chofetz Chaim, Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kagan, notes that the Hebrew word for "after" is "acharai" which denotes a far distance. He asks, "Since this verse tells us to follow the Almighty, why didn't the Torah use a term denoting closeness since we should be as close as possible to the Almighty? Rabbi Kagan explains that the Torah uses a term denoting distance to tell us that regardless of how far a person feels he is from the Almighty, he should never give up hope. With all of his power he should strive to come closer to the Almighty and he will find Him. Never despair and never allow any faults or transgressions to prevent you from coming closer to the Almighty! ______________________________________________________________ What Is Special About The Hebrew Month Of Elul? Sunday, August 19th, and Monday, August 20th, are the two days of Rosh Chodesh, the beginning of the new Hebrew month of Elul. This is a very special month in the Jewish year as it is the month preceding Rosh Hashanah (which begins Monday evening, September 17th). Jewish cosmology teaches us that each season of the year has a special spiritual opportunity for success. For instance, Passover is the time to work on freedom and Sukkot is the time to work on joy. Elul is the time to work on personal growth. Elul, when spelled in Hebrew letters, is the acronym for the words, "I am to my beloved, my beloved is to me" (ani l'dodi v'dodi li - oftentimes it will be inscribed on the inside of an engagement ring). The month of Elul is a time of heightened spirituality where the Almighty is, as it were, closer and more approachable. It is a time of introspection and preparation for Rosh Hashanah. It is a time to do a spiritual audit and to fix up your life. Rabbi Noah Weinberg, the founder and head of Aish HaTorah, illustrates the availability of coming close to the Almighty in Elul with the example of trying to make an appointment with the President of the United States. It is a very difficult task to accomplish -- unless it's an election year. Elul is like an election year. The Almighty is like a loving Father/Mother waiting for us to come home. To help you prepare for Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment, the Aish HaTorahI presents questions for you to ask yourself and discuss with family and friends. They are an excerpt from a fabulous and indispensable book, The Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur Survival Kit, written by Aish HaTorah alumnus Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf. QUESTIONS FOR A MEANINGFUL LIFE 1. When do I most feel that my life is meaningful? 2. Those who mean the most to me -- have I ever told them how I feel? 3. Are there any ideals I would be willing to die for? 4. If I could live my life over, would I change anything? 5. What would bring me more happiness than anything else in the world? 6. What are my three most significant achievements since last Rosh Hashanah? 7. What are the three biggest mistakes I've made since last Rosh Hashanah? 8. What project or goal, if left undone, will I most regret next Rosh Hashanah? 9. If I knew I couldn't fail, what would I undertake to accomplish in life? 10. What are my three major goals in life? What am I doing to achieve them? What practical steps can I take in the next two months towards these goals? 11. If I could only give my children three pieces of advice, what would they be? If you find the High Holidays boring, can't follow the prayer service and don't understand it; if the services lack meaning and aren't a spiritual experience, then to have a meaningful experience and to have something meaningful to share with your children and family - you might want to get a copy of the Rosh Hashanah Yom Kippur Survival Kit ... especially if your kids think a shofar is someone who drives a limousine. Unless you prepare in advance, then you are relying on a miracle to have any kind of positive experience at all. The book is available at your Jewish bookstore or by calling toll-free 877-758-3242. Rabbi Kalman Packouz Aish HaTorah Miami __________________________________________________________________ Recipe of the week: Potatoes with mushrooms - parve dish Ingredients: 3-4 lb of potatoes fresh mushrooms 1 pack of dry mushroom sup 1/2 teaspoon of dry basil (1 teaspoon chopped fresh basil) salt, black pepper to taste Preparation: Pill potatoes, cut them into approx 1/2" cubes. Wash and clean mushrooms, cut in four. In a deep pan, place 2/3 of potatoes and mushrooms, add spices, sup, and the rest of potatoes and mushrooms. Add water (dont have to cover all). After water starts to boil, lower the flame to a minimum and cook under cover for 2-2.5 hour. Residue: 6 servings. Tip: Try 2-3 different kinds of mushrooms for the taste variety Please send us your favorite recipes, to kehilasmy@yahoo.com so we can share them with others! __________________________________________________________________ Please send us your questions, comments, suggestions to kehilasmy@yahoo.com. We will be happy to answer them. Don't forget to visit our web site at http://kehilasmy.org to check our last articles, events and pictures. Please tell about us your family members, friends, co-workers. Have a Good Shabbos, Isroel Akerman Mariana Fradman ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you for reading about http://www.kehilasmy.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy books with 10% off from Artscroll and Artscroll will donate us 5% of your purchase: http://artscroll.com/linker/kehilasmy/home -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=lit.kehilasmy http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com