THE JEWISH WELFARE BOARD

Upcoming events

 The Fourth session of the new JLI course on Jewish Business Ethics, entitled “Money Matters” will continue on Monday 13th of February. Money Matters will present Judaism’s approach to practical economic  dilemmas and monetary quandaries that we face daily in both our   personal and professional lives. To register and for more info, visit the website at www.myjli.com

- SAVE THE DATES-

· Wednesday night 7th of March, Megilah reading and dancing

· Wednesday night 7th of March, Teens Purim Party

· Thursday 8th of March, Megilah reading and party at the Shooker home

· Saturday Night 10th of March, Adults purim Party

· Sunday 9th of March, Purim Family day

More details to follow for all Purim Events.

Parasha in a Nutshell

 Yitro

Exodus 18:1-20:23

Moses' father-in-law, Jethro, hears of the great miracles which G-d performed for the people of Israel, and comes from Midian to the Israelite camp, bringing with him Moses' wife and two sons. Jethro advises Moses to appoint a hierarchy of magistrates and judges to assist him in the task of governing and administrating justice to the people.

The Children of Israel camp opposite Mount Sinai, where they are told that G-d has chosen them to be His "kingdom of priests" and "holy nation." The people respond by proclaiming, "All that G-d has spoken, we shall do."

On the sixth day of the third month (Sivan), seven weeks after the Exodus, the entire nation of Israel assembles at the foot of Mount Sinai. G-d descends on the mountain amidst thunder, lightning, billows of smoke and the blast of the shofar, and summons Moses to ascend.

G-d proclaims the Ten Commandments, commanding the people of Israel to believe in G-d, not to worship idols or take G-d's name in vain, to keep the Shabbat, honor their parents, and not to murder, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness or covet another's property. The people cry out to Moses that the revelation is too intense for them to bear, begging him to receive the Torah from G-d and convey it to them.

The Seuda Shelishit is partially sponsored  by:

 The Klein family

לעילוי נשמת ר‘ שמואל ב“ר יעקב יצחק ז“ל

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

 The Purpose of the Commandments

The Ten Commandments are in many ways the highlight of the entire Torah. But the Midrash makes a surprising statement: it says that the first word of the Ten Commandments is in the Egyptian language. What does this mean?

The Ten Commandments are the summary of the entire Torah. They were heard from G-d by the entire Jewish people. The first Command, "I am G-d, your G-d, who took you out of the Land of Egypt" is the basic statement of our special relationship with the Infinite. The first word, Anochi, means, "I am." G-d is speaking of Himself, and communicating with us.

The Midrash is intriguing. It says this first word Anochi is Egyptian, because G-d wanted to speak with us in the language we had learnt while we were in Egypt. This tells us something about the nature of Torah and of being a Jew. G-d does not want to relate to us only on the sacred, spiritual level of our lives, represented by Hebrew, the holy language. He wants to reach the earthly "Egyptian" dimension as well.

We should not try to pretend that we do not have this lower aspect. Rather, we should try to control it, then elevate it and ultimately transform it into something holy.

G-d helps us in this task: there are Jewish teachings about every aspect of life, including the most basic. The mitzvot (commandments) connect us to G-d on every level of our being. For this reason Anochi, the first word of the Ten Commandments, is in Egyptian: it reaches down to the "Egyptian" person inside us and transforms him or her into a Jew. 

Meeting Point

The Sages tell us that every Jewish soul ever to be born was present at the giving of the Torah. This includes every single person who would ever become a true proselyte to Judaism. It was a moment of meeting of the entire Jewish people together, and a meeting of the Jewish people with G-d.

The recognition of G-d which was experienced at Sinai remains in the heart of every Jew, and is the spark of his or her Jewish identity.

Further, during his forty days and nights on Mount Sinai the entire Torah was revealed to Moses. The Sages tell us that "Every new idea which would ever be suggested by a scholar in discussion with his teacher - was told to Moses at Sinai".

Sinai was therefore the ultimate meeting point of G-d, the entire Jewish people and the Torah.

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

 Forbidden Foods

We are commanded to know the signs that distinguish the types of animals that it is forbidden to eat from the types that are permitted, as it says "And you shall distinguish between the clean animal and the unclean and between the unclean bird and the clean"1; and it says "And to distinguish between the unclean and the clean and between the animal that may be eaten and the animal that may not be eaten".2,a Anything that comes from a forbidden animal (milk, eggs, etc.) is forbidden.

An animal is permitted only if it has a divided hoof and chews the cud, as it says "And any animal that has a hoof and divides it into two parts and chews the cud... it you may eat, but this you may not eat..."3; there are ten permitted types (three domestic, seven wild).4,c There are 24 forbidden types of birds, as it says "And these you shall abominate among the birds, they shall not be eaten", and it says "You may eat any clean bird"5; the sages characterized the permitted birds as those that do not pounce and eat and that have an extra toe or a crop or a gizzard that can be peeled by hand.d All (flying) insects are forbidden except for eight types of locusts, as it says "Any flying swarming thing is unclean for you, they shall not be eaten

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

 Do not be hasty in spirit to be angry. (Ecclesiastes 7:9)

For what I believe are valid reasons, my home telephone is unlisted. However, this secret has been very poorly kept. While I have made peace with giving free psychiatric advice from my home, I have not been able to make peace with persons whom I do not know who make collect calls in search of free advice. Yet I do not refuse to accept charges. Perhaps the caller is in a desperate crisis and thinks that I can somehow help him.

One evening, a phone call interrupted my already long-delayed dinner. I thought I heard the operator say that it was collect. Although the caller was a stranger, I accepted the call, for the reason given above. The caller asked for some psychiatric advice, but since there was no emergency I expressed outrage for her calling me at home, and particularly for asking me to pay for the call. The woman responded that she had not called me collect, and the operator had perhaps erred, since she had asked that the call be “person to person.”

I realized that the mistake was mine; the operator had not asked me to accept the charges, but had asked for me personally. I had therefore reprimanded the caller unjustly, but since I did not know who she was, I had no way to apologize to her.

This incident demonstrates the wisdom of Solomon’s words. Had I not hastily jumped to conclusions, but instead had exercised a bit of patience, a gently worded question would have revealed the truth and would have prevented an unjustified reprimand.

Arseth

 21 Shvat/14 February

Simha bat Rosa

22 Shvat/15 February

Aaron Yehezkel Abdullah

23 Shvat/16 February

Amam bat Habiba

May Their Memory Be A Blessing

Today in Jewish history...

18 Shevat

King Alfonzo V ordered Sicily's Jews to attend conversion sermons, 1428.

19 Shevat

Jews of Basle were burned alive, 1349, in wooden houses constructed for that purpose. (In relatively recent years, we tend to see Basle - and all of Switzerland - as quite civilized... and not un-nice to its Jews. In medieval times, it was a main "center of anti-Semitism".)

21 Shevat

-Oliver Cromwell granted the right of residence in England to a Jew (one Luis Carvajal), 1657. (Some historians say that this is the earliest official British act of tolerance in favor of the Jews. [One wonders if this is supposed to be a source of pride.]

22 Shevat

-Caius Caligua was assassinated, 41 c.e. The day was observed as a holiday, since his decree to put pagan images in the Beit HaMikdash was voided upon his death.

-Yahrzeit of Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Kotzk, 1859.

 23 Shevat

-The Israelites assembled to wage war against the Tribe of Binyamin (as noted in Sho'f'tim 20:1).

-First transport of Jews to concentration camps, 1941.

24 Shevat

-The prophet Zechariya predicted the restoration of Zion and encouraged the resumption of the building of the Beit haMikdash.

Ask The Rabbi

Question:

Why is there a chupah(canopy) at a Jewish wedding?

Answer:

Marriage is the of man and woman. But male and female are opposites, and the idea that they can become one is absurd. You can't take opposites and make them one. It's impossible.

Impossible, that is, unless you do one thing: find something that encompasses both of them. An energy that can include opposites can unite opposites. And the only energy that can include opposites is divine energy. Only G‑d, the source of male and female and everything else, can bring together opposites. And so only G‑d can create a marriage.

The word chupah means "encompassing." It represents the divine presence that hovers above bride and groom to unite them. Because man and woman can only truly become one if they dedicate themselves to something bigger than the both of them. When two people unite for a common higher cause, then they transcend the differences between them and become one.

Love, attraction, chemistry, biology and physics are all important for marriage, but what will keep it together is shared spiritual values and a common sense of divine purpose. As long as G‑d is a partner in the marriage, you will be standing under the chupah for a lifetime.

Recipe Of the Week

• 2 ripe bananas
• ½ cup oil
• ½ cup orange juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1¾ cup flour sifted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup walnuts, chocolate chips or blueberries (optional)

1. Mix ingredients in the order listed. 
2. Pour in baking pan and bake for 45 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. 

TIP: COVER CAKE IMMEDIATELY AFTER TAKEN OUT OF OVEN AND CAKE WILL BECOME SOFT AND MOIST ON TOP. 

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