Hannukah

Hey everybody,

I just wanted to invite everyone for latkes and candle lightings, Wednesday night at my place (The Level).  Please come and bring some gambling money (no less than $5) at around 6pm. 

Hope to see you all there,

Daniel Cohen-Lyons

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Shabbat dinner tomorrow, Nov 9

Dear all. We are having Shabbat dinner tomorrow evening, Friday, November 9 at 6 pm (not 7 pm as I might have told some of you).

Please, let each other know in case people don't check their emails regularly. Also, can someone let the 1st semester people know as they hard to get a hold of.

Don't be shy to pass by late if time is tight. Hope to see you all tomorrow.

Arye and Val

Shabbat Shalom

Sukkot

Hi everyone,
Yom Kippur is now over and Sukkot will begin Wed. evening.  So that means we need a Sukkah!  We will all be getting together Tuesday after class at Daniel's place to put the finishing touches on the Sukkah and we need help!  Anyone with a hammer some wood, some palm branches, and nails is invited to please come by around 5:15 p.m.  Anyone who wants to be there for moral suport is equally welcome.  Wednesday night we will be having a sushi night in the Sukkah so anyone who knows how to make sushi please bring some.  I will do my best to prepare enough for all but I can't guarantee Big Rock will have all the supplies, so everyone should to bring a little somethin somethin.  Drinks welcomed!

here is a little story I found on Chabad.org, enjoy:

The Reward

Once upon a time there lived a very charitable man. One day --it was Hoshana Rabbah-- his wife gave him ten shekels and asked him to go and buy something for their children. At that moment a collection was being made in the market place for a poor orphaned girl who was about to be married. When the collectors saw this charitable person they said, "Here comes a very charitable man." They addressed themselves to him saying, "Will you take a share in this worthy cause, for we want to buy a present for the poor bride?" The good man gave them all the ten Shekels he had. Now he was ashamed to return home empty handed, and so he went to the synagogue. There he found children playing with etrogim, for it was Hoshana Rabba (the seventh day of Sukkot) and there was no more need for the etrogim. The good man collected a sack full of etrogim and went out to seek his fortune. Arriving in a strange land he sat down on his sack of etrogim, wondering what he was going to do next. Suddenly he was approached by the king's officers, who asked him what he had in that sack. "I am a poor man and have nothing to sell," he replied. They opened his sack and found it was full of etrogim. "What kind of fruit is this?" the officers asked. "These are etrogim , a special fruit used by Jews during their festival of Sukkot." When the officers heard that, they grabbed him and his sack and carried him all the way to the palace. It was then that our good man learned what all the excitement was about: The king was very ill and he was told that only the fruit used by Jews during their festival of Sukkot could cure him. A very intensive search had yielded nothing, and just when all hope seemed to be gone, this good man arrived with a sack full of etrogim, and thus saved the king's life. The king recovered his health and ordered the sack emptied of the etrogim to be filled with golden dinars. Our good man now returned home richly rewarded for the charity he had been giving all his life.

Yom Kippur breaking of the fast.

This Saturday night after the end of Yom Kippur we are invited to Daniel's house to hear the shofar and break the fast with a light meal.  Anyone who would like to bring some food should either bring Parve (neutral food-not milk and not meat eg egg-based food, fish based foods, fruits/veggies, etc.) or milky foods, or at least bring yourselves so we can all hear the shofar together.  5th and 4th will be having exams Monday and Tuesday so we probably won't stick around as long as the rest of you.  For any questions/comments please reply.

 

Have an easy fast!

 

Arye

 

P.S. the fast begins Friday 72 minutes before sunset and ends Saturday after sunset.   Stay tuned for succot the week after.

High Holidays

Hi Everyone,
I hope everyone had a relaxing break! The Jewish high holidays have begun. The Rosh Hashana (http://www.jewishnewyear.com/) dinner was great, I would like to say mazal tov to Daniel for coordinating his first event as the JSC's new official Event Coordinator! Great Job!

Back to the holiday subject, tomorrow there will be a fast for anyone interested it is called Tsom Gedaliah (the fast of Gedaliah) and will begin at dawn and end at sundown. The time from Rosh Hashana until Yom Kippur (this Friday night until Saturday night) is called Assarah Yemei Teshouva (The ten days of repentance). This is the time where people try to kick up the pace on the amount of mitzvot that they accomplish in order to be inscribed in the book of prosperity.

Yom Kippur, from this Friday until Saturday night, there will be services on St-Martin and for reservations you can call Sharon on St-Martin 00-590-690-35-35-12. As for Saba services, we haven't yet finalized the details. More info on that and other holiday info this week.

Tisha B'av -- the 9th Day of the month of Av

Sorry for the last minute notice,
Tonight (monday) until Tuesday night there is a fast for Tisha B'av.

The fast commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Those two events occurred about 656 years apart, but on the same date.^[2]

In connection with the fall of Jerusalem, three other fast-days were established at the same time as the Ninth Day of Av: these were the Tenth of Tevet, when the siege began; the Seventeenth of Tammuz, when the first breach was made in the wall; and the Third of Tishrei, known as the Fast of Gedaliah, the day when Gedaliah was assassinated (II Kings 25:25; Jeremiah 41:2). From Zechariah 7:5, 8:19 it appears that after the building of the Second Temple the custom of keeping these fast-days was temporarily discontinued. Since the destruction of Jerusalem and of the Second Temple by the Romans, the four fast-days have again been observed.

a few links to learn more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tisha_B'Av

http://www.ou.org/yerushalayim/tishabav/tishabav.html

some audio links for the lazy:

http://www.ou.org/index.php/ouradio/ouradio_asx/7113/ou.asx

http://www.ouradio.org/ouradio/channel/C258/

For all who are fasting JSC of SUSOM wishes you an easy fast.

PLAYGROUND CLEANUP--TOMORROW 3-6 pm

Hi everyone,
The JSC, SASS and Asian club are going to be doing a cleanup at the playground in St. John's tomorrow from 3-6 pm (next to the school).  The JSC is donating some supplies as well as pizza to the event.  Come few, come many, lend us a helping hand and enjoy the food and refreshments as well as make a difference on Saba that matters.  If the event goes well next semester we may organize something more elaborate.

Cheers and thanks for your support,
Arye Kremer