Welcome to the DAT Minyan! Lighting Shabbat Devarim · 7/24/2020  · understand the episode. Second: what was their mission? In our parsha, the people said, “Let us send men to

Welcome to the DAT Minyan! Shabbat Devarim

July 25, 2020 - 4 Av 5780 Bara Loewenthal and Nathan Rabinovitch, Co- Presidents

Candle Lighting

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Havdalah

6:50p

8:02p

9:05p

DAT Minyan is a dynamic and friendly Modern Orthodox congregation for all ages and dedicated to meaningful personal spiritual development, community growth, youth involvement, Torah education, and Religious Zionism.

DAT Minyan - 560 S. Monaco Pkwy., Denver, CO 80224 - 720-941-0479 - www.datminyan.org

In the last month of his life, Moses gathered the people. He instructed them about the laws they were to keep and reminded them of their history since the Exodus. That is the substance of the book of Devarim. Early in this process, he recalled the episode of the spies – the reason the people’s parents were denied the opportunity to enter the land. He wanted the next generation to learn the lesson of that episode and carry it with them always. They needed faith and courage. Perhaps that has always been part of what it means to be a Jew. But the story of the spies as he tells it here is very different indeed from the version in Shelach Lecha (Num. 13-14), which describes the events as they happened at the time, almost 39 years earlier. The discrepancies between the two accounts are glaring and numerous. Here I want to focus only on two. First: who proposed sending the spies? In Shelach, it was God who told Moses to do so. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘Send men…” In our parsha, it was the people who requested it: “Then all of you came to me and said, ‘Let us send men…” Who was it: God or the people? This makes a massive difference to how we understand the episode.

Second: what was their mission? In our parsha, the people said, “Let us send men to spy out [veyachperu] the land for us” (Deut. 1:22). The twelve men “made for the hill country, came to the wadi Eshcol, and spied it out [vayeraglu]” (Deut. 1:24). In other words, our parsha uses the two Hebrew verbs, lachpor and leragel, that mean to spy. But as I pointed out in my Covenant & Conversation for Shelach Lecha, the ac-count there conspicuously does not mention spying. Instead, thirteen times, it uses the verb latur, which means to tour, explore, travel, inspect. Even in our parsha, when Moses is talking, not about the spies but about God, he says He “goes before you on your journeys—to seek out (latur) the place where you are to encamp” (Deut. 1:33). According to Malbim, latur means to seek out what is good about a place. Lachpor and leragel mean to seek out what is weak, vulnerable, exposed, defenseless. Touring and spying are completely different activities, so why does the account in our parsha present what happened as a spying mission, which the account in Shelach emphatically does not? These two questions combine with a third, prompted by an extraordinary statement of Moses in our parsha. Having said that the spies and the people were punished by not living to enter the promised land, he then says:

Because of you, the Lord was incensed with me also, and He said: you shall not enter it either. Joshua son of Nun, who attends you, he shall enter it. Strengthen him, because he will lead Israel to inherit it. (Deut. 1:37-38)

This is very strange indeed. It is not like Moses to blame others for what seems to be his own failing. Besides which, it contradicts the testimony of the Torah itself, which tells us that Moses and Aaron were punished by

We invite men and women to sign up for our minyan at The Jewish Experience . For those

unable to make it, we encourage everyone to join us for our virtual daily davening and

learning opportunities.

All davening times are published on our website.

To join us virtually, download the ZOOM app to your computer or phone. The computer log in is:

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Virtual Shabbat Davening Times:

FRIDAY

Mincha: 7:05 pm

Derasha : 7:15

Kabbalat Shabbat: 7:30 pm

(Shema should be recited after 9:06 pm)

SHABBAT

Parasha (Artscroll Chumash):

Page 939 /Haftarah: Page 1195

(Shema should be recited before 9:29 am)

PLEASE NOTE: YOU MUST SIGN UP IN ADVANCE TO GO TO TJE MINYAN. NUMBERS WILL BE

ENFORCED TO ENSURE SAFETY

TJE Shabbat Davening Times:

FRIDAY:

Shacharit: 6:20 am

Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv: 6:35 pm

SHABBAT:

Shacharit: 8:00 am

Mincha: 7:55pm

Maariv: 9:05 pm

Tisha Ba’Av:

Fast Begins: Wednesday, July 29, 8:15 pm

Fast Ends: Thursday, July 30, 9:00 pm

D’var Torah With Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

Virtual and In Person Weekly Schedule

SHACHARIT

Sunday: 8:00 am

Monday: 6:30 am

Tuesday and Wednesday: 6:35 am

Thursday (Tisha Ba’Av): 6:20 am

Friday: 6:20 am

MINCHA/MAARIV

Sunday-Tuesday: 8:05 pm

Wednesday (Tisha Ba’Av begins):

Mincha: 6:15 pm

Maariv: 8:25 pm

Thursday: 7:40 pm

Friday: 8:05 pm

(Continued on Page 2)

D’VAR TORAH (continued)

Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during the service.

not being permitted to enter the land because of what happened at Kadesh when the people complained about the lack of water. What they did wrong is debated by the commentators. Was it that Moses hit the rock? Or that he lost his temper? Or some other reason? Whichever it was, that was when God said: “Because you did not trust in Me enough to honor Me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them” (Num. 20:12). This was some 39 years after the episode of the spies. As to the discrepancy between the two accounts of the spies, R. David Zvi Hoffman argued that the account in Shelach tells us what happened. The account in our parsha, a generation later, was meant not to inform but to warn. Shelach is a historical narrative; our parsha is a sermon. These are different literary genres with different purposes. As to Moses’ remark, “Because of you, the Lord was incensed with me,” Ramban suggests that he was simply saying that like the spies and the people, he too was condemned to die in the wilderness. Alternatively, he was hinting that no one should be able to say that Moses avoided the fate of the generation he led. However, Abarbanel offers a fascinating alternative. Perhaps the reason Moses and Aaron were not permitted to enter the land was not because of the episode of water and the rock at Kadesh. That is intended to distract attention from their real sins. Aaron’s real sin was the Golden Calf. Moses’ real sin was the episode of the spies. The hint that this was so is in Moses’ words here, “Because of you, the Lord was incensed with me also.”

How though could the episode of the spies have been Moses fault? It wasn’t he who proposed sending them. It was either God or the people. He did not go on the mission. He did not bring back a report. He did not demoralize the people. Where then was Moses at fault? Why was God angry with him? The answer lies in the first two questions: who proposed sending the spies? And why is there a difference in the verbs between here and Shelach? Following Rashi, the two accounts, here and in Shelach, are not two different versions of the same event. They are the same version of the same event, but split in two, half told there, half here. It was the people who requested spies (as stated here). Moses took their request to God. God acceded to the request, but as a concession, not a command: “You may send,” not “You must send” (as stated in Shelach). However, in granting permission, God made a specific provision. The people had asked for spies: “Let us send men ahead to spy out [veyachperu] the land for us.” God did not give Moses permission to send spies. He specifically used the verb latur, meaning, He gave permission for the men to tour the land, come back and testify that it is a good and fertile land, flowing with milk and honey. The people did not need spies. As Moses said, throughout the wilderness years God has been going “ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go” (Deut. 1:33). They did however need eyewitness testimony of the beauty and fruitfulness of the land to which they had been travelling and for which they would have to fight. Moses, however, did not make this distinction clear. He told the twelve men: “See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified?” This sounds dangerously like instructions for a spying mission.

When ten of the men came back with a demoralizing report and the people panicked, at least part of the blame lay with Moses. The people had asked for spies. He should have made it clear that the men he was sending were not to act as spies. How did Moses come to make such a mistake? Rashi suggests an answer. Our parsha says: “Then all of you came to me and said, ‘Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us.” The English does not convey the sense of menace in the original. They came, says Rashi, “in a crowd,” without respect, protocol or order. They were a mob, and they were potentially dangerous. This mirrors the people ’s behavior at the beginning of the story of the Golden Calf: “When the people saw that Moses was so long in coming down from the mountain, they gathered against Aaron and said to him…”

Faced with an angry mob, a leader is not always in control of the situation. True leadership is impossible in the face of the madness of crowds. Moses’ mistake, if the analysis here is correct, was a very subtle one, the difference between a spying mission and a morale-boosting eyewitness account of the land. Even so, it must have been almost inevitable given the mood of the people. That is what Moses meant when he said, “because of you the Lord was incensed with me too.” He meant that God was angry with me for not showing stronger leadership, but it was you – or rather, your parents – who made that leadership impossible. This suggests a fundamental, counterintuitive truth. There is a fine TED talk about leadership.[1] It takes less than 3 minutes to watch, and it asks, “What makes a leader?” It answers: “The first follower.” There is a famous saying of the Sages: “Make for yourself a teacher and acquire for yourself a friend.”[2] The order of the verbs seems wrong. You don’t make a teacher, you acquire one. You don’t acquire a friend, you make one. In fact, though, the statement is precisely right. You make a teacher by being willing to learn. You make a leader by being willing to follow. When people are unwilling to follow, even the greatest leader cannot lead. That is what happened to Aaron at the time of the Calf, and in a far more subtle way to Moses at the time of the spies.

That, I would argue, is one reason why Joshua was chosen to be Moses’ successor. There were other distinguished candidates, including Pinchas and Caleb. But Joshua, serving Moses throughout the wilderness years, was a role-model of what it is to be a follow-er. That, the Israelites needed to learn. I believe that followership is the great neglected art. Followers and leaders form a partnership of mutual challenge and respect. To be a follower in Judaism is not to be submissive, uncritical, blindly accepting. Questioning and arguing are a part of the relationship. Too often, though, we decry a lack of leadership when we are really suffering from a lack of follow-ership.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Sacks (Continued from Page 1)

DAT MINYAN NEWS, EVENTS AND MILESTONES

Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during the service.

Community Announcements

SHAWL: Parshat Devarim/Shabbat Chazon: Ellyn Hutt is scheduled to teach "Shabbat Chazon: A Vision of

Redemption" at the Lowenthal home, 7015 East Bayaud Ave, at 6:30 pm. Enter into the backyard through the left

sided gate. Please wear a mask. Sign up sheet HERE .

New Classes for Women! See our calendar and Facebook page for new weekly shiurim by Ellyn Hutt and Liora

Wittlin.

Daily and Shabbat Minyan will continue to take place at The Jewish Experience. The sign up sheet can be found Here.

Please note that you MUST sign up to reserve a spot at the minyan. People who have not signed up will be turned

away at the door.

Tisha Ba’av is this coming Wednesday night, July 29th and Thursday, July 30th. The fast will start at 8:15 pm and will

end at 9:00 pm.

See page 6 for more information on the laws of the Three Weeks and Tisha Ba’av

Consider volunteering to lein on Shabbat! The sign-up website is www.datminyan.org/laining. Please contact

Steve Hutt for questions and additional information.

We would like to thank our Legacy Society donors for investing in our future by naming the DAT Minyan with a gift in their will, trust, retirement account or life insurance policy. Our Legacy Society includes:

You can add your name to this list with a legacy gift to the DAT Minyan. To arrange for your gift or for more information about our Legacy Society program, please contact any of the following Committee Members: Sarah Raphaely and Steve Weiser.

THANK YOU FOR INSPIRING FUTURE GENERATIONS WITH YOUR GENEROSITY

DAT Minyan acknowledges the following milestones* of our members this Shabbat and in the coming week:

Claudia Braunstein, Brian Demain, Julie Leiber, Samson Prostak, Eric Shafran, Zehava Stroll, Chaya Sarah Tene, Brian Weiser

KIDS NEWS Our thanks to Mor Shapiro for creating our new weekly Kid-Friendly Parasha Newsletter, which includes a Parasha summary, questions, game and a Dvar Torah from one of our DAT Minyan kids. If you are a DAT Minyan Kid who would like to write a Dvar Torah, please email Mor at [email protected]. To read this week’s edition, Click HERE

*These details were obtained from the DAT Minyan database, which contains information provided by our members when they joined. We apologize for any omissions or errors. For changes, please log on to your account and update the information as needed, or contact the syna-

gogue office at 720-941-0479.

Rob Allen

anonymous

Marc and Melanie Avner

Graeme and Irit Bean

Myndie Brown

Steve and Ellyn Hutt

Nathan and Rachel Rabinovitch

Mark and Sarah Raphaely

Harley and Sara Rotbart

Stuart Senkfor and Leslie Stewart

Michael Stutzer

Steve and Lori Weiser

This Day in Jewish History - July 25/ 4 Av

1572: Isaac Luria, also known as the Arizal, the foremost rabbi and Jewish mystic in the community of Tzefat passed away. He is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah and is known for the interpretation of his teachings in Kabbalah.

1875: Sir Moses Montefiore arrived in Jerusalem, and in 1885 (on the same day) he passed away at the age of 101. Born in 1784, Montefiore was recognized as a leader of the Jewish community and was knighted in 1837. He was an observant Jew and a frequent visitor to Eretz Israel, donated large sums of money for the development of agricultural settlements, and built the first modern Jewish housing complex outside the walls of the Old City.

1923: Birthdate of Polish Jew, Estelle Scher, (stage name Estelle Getty) who is best known for her role in the show “Golden Girls.”

1959: Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, passed away. He completed the study of the Talmud at the age of 16, and pursued secular academic excellence as well, earning a doctorate from London University. His thesis was uniquely Jewish – "The Dyeing of Purple in Ancient Israel." After the creation of the state of Israel, he was faced with the challenge of applying halacha to life in a modern Jewish state, something nobody had done since the fall of Jerusalem in 70. Herzog ’s life is life is a testament to the best in combining Orthodoxy and Zionism.

1994: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein signed a declaration at the White House ending their countries' 46-year-old state of war.

Refuah Shelayma

Please include the following names in your prayers. May each be granted a Refuah Shelayma. Names are kept on the list until the next Rosh Chodesh. Help us keep the list accurate by verifying the necessary details each month on the Cholim Document

at https://goo.gl/aeyJG2.

Avraham Mordechai ben Chaya Leah Avram ben Golda Simma Bella bat Malka Eliyahu Chaim ha Cohen ben Sara Rifka Eliyahu Dovid ben Ita Sheiva Gershon ben Galina Guy Chaim ben Rita Leah bat Simcha Levick Yitzchak ben Bracha Leya bat Sara Malka bat Mazel Tov Mascha bat Rus Mayer Benya ben Nechama Mendel Ila ben Frida Miriam

Michael ben Kay Michel ben Leah Michoel Zisel ben Barbara Miriam Adina bat Sara Mordechai ben Chaya Hannah Mordechai Yitzchak ben Sarah Raphael Lior ben Miriam Roshka bat Bryna Shmuel Aharon ben Jenny Yonatan Leib Volf HaLevi ben Altahenya Shulamit Yonatan Zeev ben Netaa Chaya Sarah Rivka bat Leah Yossef ben Dinah

MORE DAT MINYAN NEWS AND EVENTS

The Rabbis in our community have created a registry for those that are ill with COVID-19. The Denver Cholim Registry can be accessed at www.denvercholimregistry.weebly.com.

Should you or someone you know need to be added to this registry, please contact your Rabbi.

As our congregation searches for its next Rabbi, we are fortunate to have a Rabbinic team that will be assisting our community this year: Rabbi Marc Gitler: Pastoral Care and Smachot For Pastoral Care and Lifecycle events please contact Rabbi Gitler at [email protected] Rabbi Dani Rockoff: Halachic Questions For Halachic questions for individuals or community matters, please contact Rabbi Rockoff at [email protected] Minyan and Daf Yomi A Rabbi in the community will attend minyan Daily and on Shabbat to offer Divrei Torah and provide Rabbinic presence. High Holidays: Rabbi Hillel Goldberg Rabbi Goldberg will serve as our Rabbi for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and possibly Sukkot as well.

Halachot of the Three Weeks, Nine Days, and Tisha B'av By Rabbi Dani Rockoff, [email protected]

The three week period beginning with the Fast of Shiva Asar B’Tammuz (July 9) and ending

with the Fast of Tisha B’Av (July 30) is a time of mourning in the Jewish calendar. Historically,

this period commemorates the sequence of events that began with the breaching of the walls of

Jerusalem, and concluded with the destruction of the holy Temple. Though all three weeks are

considered a period of mourning, the intensity of the mourning increases in stages as we

approach Tisha B’Av.

The Three Weeks

During the entire three week period (July 9- July 30):

1. Haircuts are not taken

2. Festive gatherings and parties are avoided

3. Festive music and dancing are avoided

4. New items, such as clothing, requiring a Shehchiyanu, are not worn

The Nine Days

From Rosh Chodesh Av (July 22nd) through Tisha B’Av (July 30th):

1. Meat and wine are not consumed

2. Pleasurable bathing (including recreational swimming) is prohibited

3. Objects that bring joy (including clothing) and will be available after the “nine days” are

not purchased

4. Construction and home decorating projects are not initiated

5. Outer garments are not laundered or pressed.

Meat and Wine

Included in this prohibition are all foods containing meat or chicken. This restriction is

suspended on Shabbat or at any other Seudat Mitzvah (such as a Brit Milah, etc.). At

Havdalah, the wine should preferably be given to a minor; if, however, one is not available, then

the person reciting Havdalah should drink the wine.

HALACHOT OF THE 3 WEEKS, 9 DAYS, AND TISHA B’AV

Pleasurable Bathing/Swimming

Swimming, bathing and showering for pleasure are prohibited. Instructional swim and bathing/

showering purely for cleanliness purposes are permitted. Because such bathing/showering

should be done for cleanliness only, the coolest water tolerable should be used. Before going to

the mikvah, women may bathe/shower in the normal manner. One may bathe/shower even in

hot water before Shabbat.

Purchasing New Items

This restriction applies only to ‘special’ items that bring the purchaser a certain measure of joy.

If, during this period, such an item becomes available for a limited time at a substantially

reduced cost, it may be purchased and used after Tisha B’Av.

Construction/Home Decorating

Because of the excitement associated with such projects, construction, renovation or home

decorating may not begin during the ‘nine days.’ If a hired contractor has already begun such a

project, one should request that the work be suspended until after Tisha B’Av. If the contractor

refuses or demands significant compensation for the idle days, the work may continue. If

possible, one should attempt to suspend the project during the actual week of Tisha B’Av, and

certainly on Tisha B’Av itself. Home repairs are permitted during the ‘nine days.’

Laundering and Pressing

During the ‘nine days’, one may not wear freshly laundered or pressed outer garments (items

not normally cleaned/ pressed after every use), nor may one launder, press or send clothes to

the dry cleaners for use after Tisha B’Av. Because this restriction is based upon the pleasure that

stems from a garment’s ‘freshly cleaned/pressed’ feel, clothing that has been worn for even a

short time prior to the ‘nine days’ is permitted to be worn. One should make every effort to have

available for the ‘nine days’ a wardrobe of garments that are clean but not freshly laundered or

pressed; if, despite one’s best efforts, these garments become soiled, freshly laundered ones

may be worn. Freshly laundered and pressed garments may be worn on Shabbat. The clothing

of small children may be laundered during the ‘nine days.’

HALACHOT OF THE 3 WEEKS, 9 DAYS, AND TISHA B’AV

Tisha B’Av

The prohibitions of Tisha B’Av include the following:

1. Eating and drinking. Those who are pregnant, nursing or ill and concerned about fasting

should contact Rabbi Rockoff for further discussion.

2. Washing any part of the body in hot or cold water (except upon arising in the morning,

after using the facilities or if one’s hands become otherwise soiled)

3. Application of all cosmetics, lotions or ointments (except for medicinal purposes).

4. Wearing shoes (or sneakers) made wholly or partially of leather

5. Marital relations

6. Torah learning (except those areas appropriate to the mood of Tisha B’Av, i.e., the books of

Iyov (Job) and Eikha (Lamentations), sections of the Bible and Talmud that discuss the

destruction of the Temple, the laws of mourning, the laws of Tisha B’Av, etc.

7. Greeting a fellow (a nod of the head is most appropriate)

8. Engaging in any pleasurable/recreational activity that would divert one’s mind from the

tragic nature of the day.

9. Preferably, one should refrain altogether from going to work on Tisha B’Av. Where this is

impossible, one should refrain from business or professional activities until at least midday.

Children

With the exception of not getting haircuts, the laws of the Three Weeks, Nine Days & Tisha B’Av

are applicable only to children mature enough to understand the concept of mourning for the

loss of the Temple (usually around age 7- 8, depending on the child). Because the pleasure of a

small child’s haircut belongs primarily to the parents, haircuts are prohibited for children of any

age. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Rabbi Rockoff.

HALACHOT OF THE 3 WEEKS, 9 DAYS, AND TISHA B’AV

Wednesday, July 29th

8:15 pm- Fast Begins (sunset)

8:00 pm– Mincha/Maariv at TJE (sign up HERE)

9:00 pm- Eicha and Kinot via Zoom

Thursday, July 30th

6:20 am– Shacharit at TJE (sign up HERE)

8:00 am- Kinot program via zoom

9:30 am- Special DAT Program with Rabbi Moshe Rothchild: “The Story behind

The Story: A Historical & Archeological Analysis of the Judeo-Roman Conflict”

Zoom link HERE

11:15 am- Shiur with Rabbi JJ Schacter “The Tragedy We Commemorate On Tisha

B’Av Is Not –Really– The Destruction Of The Beit Hamikdash”, OU program.

1:00 pm– Special DAT program with Rabbi Josh Rosenfeld “The Righteous Live

Through Faith: Lessons from my Saba” (Rabbi Rosenfeld, the assistant Rabbi at

Lincoln Square Synagogue, is the grandson of our cherished members R. Israel

z'l and Tova Rosenfeld). Zoom link HERE. Password: dm613

1:06 pm- Chatzot (Halachic Midday)

3:15 pm– Professor Smadar Rosensweig “Geulah & Nechama, Churban”,

OU program.

4:00 pm– Rabbi Mordechai Willig with his sons, Special Tisha B’Av Kumsitz,

OU program.

7:00 pm- Discussion with Rabbi Marc Gitler and Mrs. Liora Wittlin “Three Wishes:

was Rabbi Yochanan Ben Zakkai mistaken when he asked the Romans for

Yavneh? “ Zoom link HERE. Password: dm613

7:45 pm– Mincha/Maariv at TJE (sign up HERE)

9:00 pm– Fast ends

TISHA B’AV SCHEDULE 5780

We are partnering with Yeshivat Hakotel in the upcoming Vayichan Ahavas Yisrael Achdus program, along with other Denver and international institutions

The Vayichan programs are unprecedented in that they bring together the world’s Chief Rabbis, Senior Roshei Yeshiva, leading Rabbonim and Women Educators from around the world and from different perspectives/hashkafot who share Torah on one platform.

The next program will be on July 26- the Sunday before Tisha B’Av- and is aptly called Vayichan Ahavas Yisrael. The program also includes sessions with mental health professionals who advise on how to strengthen Ahavas Yisrael, tours given by tour guides of places in Israel connected to the Beit HaMikdash and the churban, as well as Parent-Child interviews (in the spirit of V’heishiv Leiv Avot Al Habanim) conducted by Dovid Lichtenstein.

Please see the attached schedule flier and Vayichan.com for more details.

We hope that this program helps increase Ahavat Yisrael in this special

period when we mourn for the Beit HaMikdash destroyed because of

Sinat Chinam.

VAYICHAN AHAVAS YISRAEL ACHDUS

VAYICHAN AHAVAS YISRAEL ACHDTUS

VAYICHAN AHAVAS YISRAEL ACHDTUS