Upcoming events

 -Yom Kippur-

Friday 07 October 2011:

· There will be a bus leaving to the Jewish Cemetery at  Choa Chu Kang at 9:00 am from JBC for the Erev Yom Kippur memorial service.

· There will be a meal before the fast at 5:00 pm at JBC 5th floor (reservation only)

· The fast starts at     6:37 pm

· Kol Nidre starts at  6:30 pm

Saturday 08 October 2011:

· Shacharit (morning service)                8:30 am

· Minha     (afternoon  service)              4:30 pm

· Neila       (concluding service)            6:15 pm

· Blowing of the Shofar                         7:20 pm

· Fast ends at                                          7:25 pm

(light refreshments will be served after the fast. Dinner by reservation only)

Children services -Saturday 08 October 2011:

· Children's services/program will start at 11:00 am in the playroom

· There will be a complimentary meal for children at 12:30 pm at JBC

-Save the date–

· Sunday October 16th – Community Sukkoth BBQ – 24 Waterloo st @4pm

· 15th of October-19th of October - Sukkoth ethnic food festival

             (For reservations and enquiries contact: accounts@jwb.org.sg)

· Saturday night 15th of October  - Jewish Teen Club Sukkoth party- 9:00 pm at JBC rooftop. (For more information contact mendy&mendel)

Haftorah in a Nutshell

 Book of Jonah; Micha 7:18-20.

The entire Book of Jonah is read today as it contains an important and timely message on prayer and repentance..

 G‑d ordered the prophet Jonah to travel to Nineveh and present its wicked inhabitants with an ultimatum: repent or be destroyed. Jonah refused to comply with this directive, and fled on a boat. Strong winds threatened to destroy the ship, lots were cast among the crew and passengers and the lottery indicated that Jonah was the cause of the turbulent storm. He admitted his guilt and requested to be cast into the sea.

Jonah was thrown into the raging sea and the storm abated. Jonah was swallowed by a big fish, and while in its belly, was moved to repent. The fish regurgitated Jonah. Jonah proceeded to Nineveh and broadcasted G‑d's word that Nineveh would be overturned in forty days. The people fasted and repented and the divine decree was annulled. When Jonah expressed his displeasure with this result, G‑d taught him a lesson.

  As Jonah sat on the outskirts of the city, the kikayon plant which was providing him with  shade was destroyed by a worm, and Jonah was very upset. "And G-d said: You took pity on the kikayon, for which you did not toil nor did you make it grow, which one night came into being and the next night perished. Now should I not take pity on Nineveh, the great city, in which there are many more than one hundred twenty  thousand people?...” 

The haftorah concludes with a  brief portion from the Book of Micah, which describes G‑d's kindness in forgiving the sins of His people. "He does not maintain His anger forever, for He is a lover of kindness. He will have mercy on us, He will grasp our iniquities and cast all our sins into the depths of the sea." , .

Weekly Shabbat lunch sponsor

Our Shabbat lunches offer a beautiful opportunity to meet fellow
Jews from all over the world as well as much needed hospitality to
young students, guests and visitors who would not otherwise enjoy
the Shabbat experience. We hope that you will partner with us in
sponsoring these lunches and help us provide much
needed hospitality every Shabbat. Please contact us at :enquiries@jwb.org.sg

Main article

 How to enter our personal holy of holies

On Chanukah we light the menorah and on Passover we eat matzah. But what is Yom Kippur all about?

Well, though there are a lot of don'ts associated with the holiest day of the year -- eating, drinking, leather footwear, bathing, etc. -- Yom Kippur is most associated with praying, long prayer services that occupy most of the hours of the holiday.

Interestingly, prayer is barely mentioned in the Biblical instructions for Yom Kippur. Instead, the Torah devotes an entire chapter to the procedure of the Holy Temple service on Yom Kippur, a service that was unmatched on any other holiday in terms of length, arduousness and detail.

 The highlight of the Yom Kippur Temple service was the convergence of the holiest elements of time, space, and life form. On the holiest day of the year, the holiest person -- the High Priest -- entered the holiest place on earth, the Holy of Holy chamber in the Temple sanctuary, where he would pray on behalf of all his Jewish brethren and secure their atonement.

Today we have no Temple service, so instead we pray. With our prayers we attempt to replicate, in spiritual terms, the Holy Temple service, and hopefully thus to elicit the same result, the same atonement, which was effected by the Temple service of old.

Every Jewish person is a potential temple for G‑d, and every individual is the serving high priest in his or her personal temple. The goal of the Yom Kippur prayer service is to access the Holy of Holies of this temple.

The Holy of Holies housed the golden Ark which contained the holy Tablets. The Tablets were unique in that the Ten Commandments were etched into them, unlike a Torah Scroll whose words are penned on its surface. G‑d's word was part of its very fabric, not an added component which was appended to its being. To erase the words would be to destroy the Tablets themselves.

Throughout the year we serve G‑d with our "external," conscious, faculties. We connect with Him with our minds, by attempting to comprehend Him and His messages. We work on creating a warm and emotional relationship with Him through contemplating on His greatness and His kindness towards us. But the human mind and heart are fickle at best -- they are add-on software, not the soul itself -- and the relationship that results from their efforts is, therefore, akin to ink on parchment, subject to fading and even erasure.

The innermost "chamber" of the Jewish soul, however, its Holy of Holies essence, shares a Tablet-like connection with G‑d. At our core we are connected to G‑d not by virtue of any effort, nor does the relationship require

cultivation -- it is who we are, "a veritable part of G‑d Himself."

And on Yom Kippur we have the ability to access this normally sub-conscious chamber. In doing so, we refresh our relationship for the year to come, and we also have a reciprocal effect on G‑d. He is reminded that His relationship with us is also part and parcel of who He is. He can no more forsake us than we can forsake Him. And as such, no matter the transgressions of the past year, G‑d grants His children atonement and seals them in the Books of Life and Prosperity.

Throughout the year, the high priest was bedecked in resplendent attire while performing his duties. The high priest's vestments featured gold, an array of precious stones, and the finest materials. When entering the Holy of Holies, however, the high priest was clad in simple, pristine white linen garments. Not a touch of opulence or grandeur.

Let us not erroneously assume that we lack the qualifications, the magnificent deeds or impressive Torah knowledge, to enter the Holy of Holies this Yom Kippur. All that is needed is purity of heart and mind, a readiness to start anew.

Elite kosher shop

The Kosher shop stocks a wide range of products such as meats (imported from Australia),
poultry, dairy products, as well as a large variety of wines. 

                        
The Kosher Shop also just received a wide range of products form Israel at very affordable prices such as popular snacks (Bissli etc…), canned foods and much more.

 The Awafi Restaurant

Open for Lunch and Dinner To make a reservation call 6336. 5166
Also serving breakfast every morning after Shacharit.Awafi also provides for outside catering.
 Feel free to contact us at: 6336 5166 

Halacha Corner

 7. Speaking Lashon Hara to Avoid Personal Dishonor

If someone stands to lose personal honor by not speaking Lashon Hara, he must also sustain the loss and remain silent. For example, if one is sitting in a group speaking Lashon Hara, and he has no way to separate from them at the moment, he cannot participate in their lively discussion. This applies even if he will look like a simpleton or social clod. He should try to hold himself back and remember the many sayings of the Sages regarding his situation: "Better to be considered a fool in the eyes of man throughout one's lifetime than as a wicked person in the eyes of G-d for one moment (Eduyot 5:6)," "the reward is according to the effort (Pirkei Avot/Ethics of the Fathers 5:25)," "one hundred times more in hardship than without it (i.e. the reward is one hundred fold; Avot d'Rabbi Natan)," and the Vilna Gaon who writes that "for every second that one remains silent he will merit reward beyond the comprehension of any being, even celestial." 

Growing Each Day-With Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski

 And what does teshuvah consist of? [Repentance to the degree] that the One Who knows all that is hidden will testify that he will never again repeat this sin (Maimonides, Laws of Teshuvah 2:2).

"How can this be?" ask the commentaries. "Inasmuch as man always has free choice to do good or evil, to sin or not to sin, how can God testify that a person will never repeat a particular sin? Is this not a repudiation of one's free will?"

The answer to this came to me at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, at which the speaker, a man who had been sober for twenty-one years, said, "The man I was drank. The man I waswill drink again. But now I am a different man."

A sin does not occur in a vacuum. A person who is devout does not abruptly decide to eat treifah. A sin occurs when a person is in such a state that a particular act is not anathema to him.

Consequently, repentance is not complete if one merely regrets having done wrong. One must ask, "How did this sin ever come about? In what kind of a state was I that permitted me to commit this sin?"

True repentance thus consists of changing one's character to the point where, as the person is now, one can no longer even consider doing the forbidden act. Of course, the person's character may deteriorate - and if it does, he may sin again.

God does not testify that the person will never repeat the sin, but rather that his degree of repentance and correction of his character defects are such that, as long as he maintains his new status, he will not commit that sin

Arseth

07 October/9 Tishrei

Rivka (bat simha)

12 October/14 Tishrei

Rebecca Elias

Ephraim Yahacob Ishak ben Looloo

May Their Memory Be A Blessing

 The Jews of Singapore

A history of the Jews in Singapore Now available in the Elite Kosher Shop
2nd Level, JBC Or call Kosher Shop 6337 2189

Ongoing Events & Programs

Weekly Minyan, stories and snacks for children after reading of the Torah. For more info contact The boys.
One on one learning with the Yeshiva Boys for adults and children. Contact Mrs. Rivni@ 92327095.
Lunch & Learn Tuesdays at Awafi, JBC. Contact Rabbi Abergel
Talmud class every Wednesday@ 9:00pm in tractate Sanhedrin. Contact Rabbi Abergel
Mikva: Mrs. Simcha Abergel 9673 9184
Mrs. Odelia Rivni 9232 7095
(Appointments at least one day before)

Yeshiva Boys

• Mendy Ash: 9459 8690
• Yisroel Drihem: 9459 8125
• Dovid Knapp: 9459 8152
• Sroli Gutnick: 9384 3236
• Mendel Kranz : 9488 8610
• JWB Offices, Julia: 6337 2189 ext 103
• Awafi Restaurant, Sushil: 6336 5166
• Kosher Shop, Maya: 6337 2189 ext 107

www.singaporejews.com
enquiries@jwb.org.sg