D'var for Bo!

This week's d'var is written by Noah Abraham.

The parsha this week, “Bo”, meaning go [to Pharaoh], describes the last three plagues and the beginning of the exodus. Locusts, darkness, and death of the firstborn strike Egypt by God’s hand. In between the ninth and tenth plague, God commands Moses to create the first Jewish calendar and to have a passover sacrifice every year. Once the final plague is complete, Pharaoh collapses and forces the Jewish people out of Egypt. Thus begins the story of the great Exodus.

USY Shabbat D'Var

Shabbat Shalom,

My name is Amy Azaria and my name is Ohad Klopman and we are honored to be the co-Presidents of Natick USY.  USY is a youth group for kids from 4th to 12th grade. It consists of 3 groups: Kids in 4th grade to 5th grade are part of a sub-group called Kadima, kids from 6th grade to 8th grade are part of Junior USY, and those in high school are part of Senior USY. The goal for all three groups is to have fun, participate in Jewish activities and connect with other Jewish kids, both in our community and beyond.  This Shabbat is particularly special because USY has the opportunity to run the service ourselves. We’ve used this time to put our own spin on it: a fun board game theme!

This week’s portion, Shemot, tells part of the story we hear every Passover: how Moses came into his own after leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. He was raised apart from his family; Pharaoh’s edict required that all male Hebrew babies be cast into the Nile. Moses, however, was lucky. Pharaoh’s daughter saw him floating in the Nile and rescued him. She raised him in the palace, where he grew up as a royal. Years passed, and Moses grew up to be outspoken and brave. He addressed conflicts between Egyptians and Hebrews, as well as between Hebrews. Moses assumed a leadership role in his court and he helped to resolve issues that appeared among his subjects.

God saw potential in this royal river baby and chose him to lead the Hebrews. Moses had proven his mettle once before, so God trusted Moses to do what was right. Moses was aware that he had flaws, but he reconciled them by working with his brother, Aaron. Together, the two took on the task of leading the Hebrews. Without a strong leader like Moses, the Hebrews would have continued to struggle in Egypt.

The haftarah tells us of a time when the people Israel drifted away from their responsibilities to each other and to God. Isaiah is the one to bring Israel’s shortcomings to their attention. He calls the Ten Tribes of Jacob out for reckless behavior, and he says that as long as it continues, “they shall fall backward, and be injured and snared and captured" (28:13). Unfortunately for Isaiah, Israel does not heed his warnings. The role of a leader can be hard at times, especially when one’s peers refuse to listen. But the Rabbis have chosen to end the haftarah with two verses of another section of Isaiah, ones that remind us of the eventual redemption and forgiveness by God.

In both these portions, we see a common theme: that of coming into your own, finding your role in the community, and discovering what it really means to be a leader in the Jewish community. Moses may have been appointed by God to the task, but he would never have been considered if had he not spoken out and taken action for what was right. In the haftorah, we see the Israelites struggle with amending their shameful ways. Isaiah has the hard task of calling it out, but no change could have occurred without his leadership. This is one of our goals in USY: we strive to change for the better, to gather our friends and families to do good for others and embrace our Jewish identities.

In my eight years in Natick USY, I’ve changed a lot.  When I first started USY, I remember going to Friday night and Saturday morning services and hearing Senior USY’ers leading Ruach sessions, wishing I could join in.  Of course I could have, but I was too shy to do anything more than just sit with the Senior USY’ers while they sang.  I am no longer too shy to join in on the Ruach sessions; I’ve even led sessions before!  I love USY for more than just the Ruach sessions and other fun events, though.  It gives me an opportunity to volunteer with friends and have fun learning about Israel.  Through USY, I have met some of my best friends who I know I will keep in touch with, even after high school.

When I first joined USY, I was thrilled to get to go snow tubing and dancing and skating, all while hanging out with my friends from Hebrew school. Now that it’s my 4th year in the chapter, I know that it’s so much more than that—although that is pretty awesome in itself! At its core, USY is a place to find a place in something greater than yourself. It’s where I found my love for helping others through various Social Action and Tikkun Olam events. It’s what caused me to start paying attention to Israeli news, because what goes on there affects me even though I live in the U.S. USY is my outlet to participate in the greater Jewish community, and if I’m lucky enough, to lead it.

On behalf of the entire USY board, I would like to thank the Temple Israel Youth Committee and Michelle Nelson for helping to ensure all events are successful, and of course, for helping us to become the regional Chapter of the Year!   In addition, I would like to thank the Temple Israel Community for your support throughout the year.

Thank you, and Shabbat Shalom!

3 days till USY Shabbat!!!

‪3 days till USY Shabbat! It's gonna be amazing! Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/2017USYParticipationGuide‬

4 days till USY Shabbat!!!

‪4 days till USY Shabbat! It's gonna be splendid! Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/2017USYParticipationGuide‬

5 days till USY Shabbat!!!

5 days till USY Shabbat! Don't miss out! Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/2017USYParticipationGuide

9 days till USY Shabbat!!!

9 days till USY Shabbat! It will be a blast! Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/2017USYParticipationGuide

January 16 SA/TO snap

Hi everyone! A quick and easy way to help the environment is to stop using plastic bags. Start bringing your own reusable bags to stores. Plastic bags have three times the greenhouse gas impact of reusable bags. This way plastic bags will not be hurting the earth.

6 days till USY Shabbat!!!

‪6 days till USY Shabbat! It's gonna be dandy! Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/2017USYParticipationGuide‬

7 days till USY Shabbat!!!

7 days till USY Shabbat! It's gonna be awesome! Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/2017USYParticipationGuide

D'var for Vayechi

This week's d'var is written by Ben Katzman.

In Vayechi, Jacob is about to die, so he gives instructions on how to bury him. He then blesses his sons and he gives a special blessing to Joseph's kids. He blesses each child with something that will be imported to the tribe. When he dies, the people of Egypt mourn his death and his body gets a military escort to his burial site in Israel. At the end, Joseph dies but his body get buried in Egypt, even though he wanted to be buried in Israel too.  

In this parsha, we also learn that the brothers still feel guilty for what they did to Joseph. They tell him that they will be his slaves. Joseph tells them that he forgives them. This is a lesson to all, about forgiveness because Joseph’s brothers had been evil to him, yet he was still able to forgive.

8 days till USY Shabbat!!!

8 days till USY Shabbat! It will be so much fun! Sign up athttps://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfog0m8A7HCQQexaXxsNxLBTg6Mc3MsdYh-YTxRbszR4gKGxQ/viewform

10 day till USY Shabbat!

10 days till USY Shabbat!!! Don't forget to sign up at http://tinyurl.com/2017USYParticipationGuide

D'var for Vayigash!

This week's parshah is Vayigash.

Judah approaches Joseph to plead for the release of Benjamin, offering himself as a slave to the Egyptian ruler in Benjamin’s stead. Upon witnessing his brothers’ loyalty to one another, Joseph reveals his identity to them. “I am Joseph,” he declares. “Is my father still alive?”
The brothers are overcome by shame and remorse, but Joseph comforts them. “It was not you who sent me here,” he says to them, “but G‑d. It has all been ordained from Above to save us, and the entire region, from famine.”
The brothers rush back to Canaan with the news. Jacob comes to Egypt with his sons and their families—seventy souls in all—and is reunited with his beloved son after 22 years. On his way to Egypt he receives the divine promise: “Fear not to go down to Egypt; for I will there make of you a great nation. I will go down with you into Egypt, and I will also surely bring you up again.”
Joseph gathers the wealth of Egypt by selling food and seed during the famine. Pharaoh gives Jacob’s family the fertile county of Goshen to settle, and the children of Israel prosper in their Egyptian exile.

 

 

"Vayigash in a Nutshell." Chabad.org. Chabad, n.d. Web. 06 Jan. 2017.

January 4th SA/TO snap

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone is having a great time back at school! Now that we are back to school you may want to take some homework breaks during the day. If you planned on going shopping, try shopping online! By shopping online it can save energy and there will be fewer carbon dioxide emissions than shopping in the store. Hope everyone has a great rest of the week and tries shopping online rather than going to the store!

Snow tubing!!!

Don't forget to sign up for snow tubing this Saturday the 7th at 5:30 - 9:15 am. There will be a bus to take us there. We will have a 2- hour pass for tubing and pizza!! This event is for grades 3-12! Sign up at http://tinyurl.com/2017Tubing 

Sam, Micah, and Michael at IC!!!

Sam, Micah, and Michael all had an incredible IC experience. Micah and Michael would love to see you next year at IC CHICAGO!!! Come up to any of them if you have questions about their #icexperience