QUOTE FOR THE DAY: 

A happy wife makes a happy life
(& a happy husband makes a happy wife!)

DIVREI CHIZUK IN TIMES OF WAR – PART 4 “WITH GREAT MERCY I SHALL BRING YOU BACK” by Rav Doron Podlashul
Dedicated for the speedy return of all the kidnapped including Daniel Shimon Ben Sharon, the recovery of all the injured and the protection of all our soldiers
These are not easy times for Am Yisrael. Nearly a month after the atrocities of October 7 and the beginning of the current war, we find ourselves still reeling from the tragedy – still trying to make sense of what has occurred and still bound together by a collective sense of shock, grief and pain.

Nonetheless, Emunah behooves us to try and look beyond the darkness that we all face and search for glimpses of light. There are things that we may never understand but our Sages throughout the generations have taught us that even in the depths of despair we can find hope.

The Gemara1 at the end of Masechet Makkot famously tells the story of Rabbi Akiva walking together with his fellow Sages as they encountered the site of the Churban – the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. A fox emerged from the site of the Holy of Holies – and upon witnessing this the Sages began to cry. Amazingly, Rabbi Akiva began to laugh. When questioned upon his strange behaviour he answered that having seen the prophecies of destruction fulfilled, he was certain that the prophecies of consolation and redemption would certainly be fulfilled too.

The Prophet Yeshayahu describes a time when G-d will hide his face from us for a moment, but then gather us in with great mercy. In that moment the next verse tells us that there will be wrath but after that G-d will take us back.

For a moment I forsook you, but with vast love I will bring you back.
In slight anger, for a moment, I hid My face from you; but with kindness everlasting I will take you back in love—said GOD your Redeemer.
Rav Asher Weiss, one of the leading poskim in Israel today, quoted these verses in the context of the current war. What our nation experienced on the 7th of October was “hester panim”. For reasons we might never fully understand Hashem hid His face from us for those hours, but our eyes are turned towards Heaven waiting for the fulfillment of the end of that verse ”uv’rachamim gedolim akabtzech” – “with great mercy shall I bring you back”.
We cannot for a moment lessen the terrible suffering that took place on that day. But together with that, is there a way for us to emulate Rabbi Akiva? Is there a way to reflect upon the tragedy of that day and see not just the destruction but the potential for comfort and consolation too?

According to Yair Ansbacher, an IDF reservist and a research fellow at the Misgav Institute, Iran had been orchestrating a two front invasion for years. The Nukbah terrosits from Hamas were meant to join the larger and better trained Radwan force of Hizbollah from the north. On the 7th of October, forces that were on alert were sent south. If Hizbollah had attacked on the same day the tragedy would not only have doubled but been compounded. Why Hizbollah did not join the attack or why Hamas decided to go at it alone we might never have a rational answer to.

Secondly, according to the army’s latest estimation, three thousand (yes more than was previously believed) Hamas armed terrorists crossed into Israel on the 7th of October besides the hoards of others who came to murder and pillage. The plan of the Nukbah (Hamas trained terrorists) was not only to murder civilians in the Otef region but to reach cities as far as Kiryat Malachi (5 kilometers from where I live) and once in the cities – to hold Israeli forces to months of fighting due to all the civilians and house to house fighting. Thank G-d, of the 3000 terrorists only a handful made it to cities such as Sderot and Ofakim. Although the price we paid was very high, imagine how much greater the tragedies would have happened if not a dozen, but hundreds or thousands would have succeeded in entering the cities.

What stopped them? Once the army headquarters was taken out in Reim base, the army became paralyzed and there was a colossal failure that will no doubt be examined after the war. The army system for the first few hours was neutralized. Yet something else happened that morning. Hundreds of soldiers and civilians, hearing that there was an attack took the initiative to hurry down to the south and help fight this cruel enemy. Most of these people were not officially called up, but of their own volition decided to go. Without these brave soldiers, policemen and women and regular citizens, the atrocities would have led to an existential threat to the existence of Israel.

To put this in context, Rav Meidan, Rosh Yeshiva of Har Etzion says that if we look back in history when countries were attacked by surprise, such as the U.S in Pearl Harbor, the Japanese continued for months to carry on the invasions of islands and it took months of regrouping before they were able to give any type of meaningful response. The same thing happened to Russia when the Nazis broke their agreement and attacked. The list goes on. Yet here without a systemized response, Am Yisrael rose quickly and charged into line of fire. “Mi K’amcha Yisrael”. This is also nothing less than a miracle.

The truth says Rav Meidan, is that we learned this from King David2. At the end of Shmuel Aleph, a terrible attack is described where the town of Tziklag (in the area of modern day Gaza) was set on fire, and women and children were taken captive. The people couldn’t stop crying for a day. David Hamelech instead of going into fright mode, chased after the attackers and his 400 men brought back all the women and children that had been captured.

Perhaps the greatest miracle is what we take for granted. 80 years ago, when the Nazi Einsatz Gruppen of Hitler’s SS, came into a jewish shtetl and murdered hundreds or sometimes thousands of jews, the next day nothing stopped them from going to the next shtetl. Ultimately it took years to stop the Nazi murdering machine against the Jewish people, and six million of our people were murdered. The difference is that after the 7th of October – G-d has given us the IDF, the Shabak and Mossad to fight and stop the killing machine.

There are many other stories of miracles in the actual fighting itself, some of them that we may only hear the clear details in the coming months – but the point is as follows. With all the pain and suffering, we also need to be the students of Rabbi Akiva, and have faith that Hashem will fulfill the prophecy of Yeshayahu, and realize that to a certain extent, some of it has already begun to be fulfilled.With our eyes and hearts pointed to Heaven, we pray that Hashem should fulfill the prophecy in its entirety in the soonest way possible.
Wishing you Shabbat Shalom with a prayer to the Master of the universe to bring back our kidnapped, heal our wounded and protect our soldiers.
Rav Doron Podlashuk
On behalf of
The Selwyn and Ros Smith & Family
MANHIGUT TORANIT PROGRAM

MAISH PRESKOWS BARMITZVAH MEMORY

On the 6th of February,1960, I celebrated my Bar Mitzvah at the  Cyrildene, Observatory Hebrew Congregation Shul.

I decided to present a Torah instead of a dinner dance, which was the rage at that time!

On the 7th of February we held the Sium Hatorah in the Shul.
The Chief Rabbi Rabinowitz, Rabbi  Denis Isaacs, members of the Shul, family and friends were guests.

I was given the 1st call up to have the letter Mem of my hebrew name inscribed by the scribe, Reverend Kaminer.

Some years later we moved from Cyrildene, to Ilovo, where I sang in the Waverly Shul Choir and assumed the leadership at 15 years old.

In 1976, I  joined the Sandton Shul Choir, where being on the Bimah, is my favorite place in our Shul.

Round about 2010 I began to discuss the possibility of moving the Torah to Sandton with their executive. They were reluctant to allow this to
happen for various reasons.

With the help of Reverend Davidovitz, I was able to negotiate my moving the Torah to our Shul, with Mr Aaron Ziegler, who was most
accommodating in handing back the Torah, on a Sunday morning some months ago.

The Torah was duly checked, and found to still be Kosher for use.

That being the case I, with pleasure, love and privilege, proudly present this Torah to the Beit Hamidrash Hagadol Sandton Sul.

Maish Preskow.

20 KEY IDEAS FOR A HAPPY MARRIAGE

1.  Keep your mind on your main goal, which is to have a happy marriage. Say and do what will enable you and your spouse to have a happy marriage. Avoid the opposite. Everything else is commentary.

2.  Keep asking yourselves, “What can we do to have a happy, loving atmosphere in our home?”

3.  Focus on giving, rather than taking. Say and do as many things as possible to meet your spouse’s needs.

4.  Keep doing and saying things that will give your spouse a sense of importance.

5.  Frequently ask yourself, “What positive things can I say and do to put my (husband or wife) in a positive emotional state?”

6.  Before speaking, clarify the outcome you want. The meaning of your communication is the response you actually get. If the first thing you say is not achieving your goal, change your approach. Remember that mutual respect and happiness is your real goal.

7.  Show appreciation and gratitude in as many ways as possible. Say something appreciative a few times a day.

8.  Be a good listener. Understand your spouse from his or her point of view.

9.  Be considerate of the feelings and needs of your spouse. Think of ways that you have lacked consideration and be resolved to increase your level of consideration.

10.   Instead of blaming and complaining, think of positive ways to motivate your spouse. If your first strategies aren’t effective, think of creative ways.

11.   Give up unrealistic expectations. Don’t expect your spouse to be perfect and don’t make comparisons.

12.   Don’t cause pain with words. If your spouse speaks to you in ways that cause you pain, choose outcome wording, “Let’s speak to each other in ways that are mutually respectful.”

13.   Be willing to compromise. Be willing to do something you would rather not do in return for similar behaviour from your spouse.

14.   Write a list of ways that you have benefited from being married to your spouse. Keep adding to the list and reread it frequently.

15.   Write a list of your spouse’s positive patterns and qualities. Keep adding to the list and read it frequently.

16.   Keep thinking about what you can do to bring out the best qualities of your spouse. Reinforce those qualities with words and action.

17.   Focus on finding solutions to any problems that arise. Be solution oriented. Don’t just blame and complain. Don’t focus on who is more wrong. For a happy marriage, work together to find mutually acceptable solutions.

18.   Remember your finest moments. What did you say and do when you felt best about each other? Increase them.

19.   Look for positive activities you can do together.

20.   Live in the present. What went wrong in the past is the past. You create the present and future with your thoughts, words, and actions right now. Choose them wisely.

LAWS OF SHABBAT FOR BEGINNERS 

In one breath, G-d said both, “Guard and remember the Shabbat. “Love of God, time with family, reconnecting with friends and with oneself — all these fulfil the commandment to “remember” Shabbat.

TAKE NOTE:

Mazeltov to Romy daughter of Nechame and the Late Tony Sacks on her forthcoming
wedding to Steven son of Ronnie & Tamara Hermann

Our Sandton Jolly Seniors Club
Wednesday morning at 10am in the Games Room. Join Carol Zimmerman and aspire to live your life with tranquility, serenity and inner peace followed by a movie and a
scrumptious tea.

Lost Property
We have a lot of clothes etc that has been left at the Shul. If you have mislaid something please go and look in the lost property box in the Locker Room.  Any items left in the box will be donated to the less fortunate.

​Tehillim

We meet daily on Zoom at 4.45pm Sunday to Thursday to have a short shiur in The Book of Proverbs and Tehillim for those who are in need of a Refuah Shelaima.  Please join Rabbi Shaw on Zoom.  The link is:

https://us04web.zoom.us/j/6631444102?pwd=dd4pr4h2LVLqpDSiE0dEekhJw2Nzfd.1

Meeting ID: 663 144 4102
Passcode: DavidShaw

Got a Halachic Question?

Refuah Shelaima to any of our Kehilla who are ill.

Please let us know if you know of PG good news and GF any sad news or people who are not well.

The Kosher desk is open from 9am – 5pm on weekdays for all Kashrut related questions.  Just WhatsApp them on 063 6939417.
Need a quick answer – Sms or WhatsApp Rabbi Shaw on 0726966535 or E-mail davidshaw@sandtonshul.co.za

Security
We encourage all members, especially women and children, to walk to and from shul in groups of at least two or more.

If you see anything or anyone suspicious in or around the shul property then please report it immediately to the CSO on 086 18 000 18.

If you live in a CAP area and see anything or anyone suspicious in your area then please report it immediately to CAP on 086 122 7227. 

Library Books

Our Library is being refreshed, so if you would like to donate a book/s or children’s books in honour of a Yahrzeit/Birthday/Anniversary/or for anything, to our library please contact Rabbi David Shaw.

If you have borrowed books from the Library, please return them as they are all over due

Edited by Rabbi David Shaw / Published by Sandton Shul
Telephone Number 0118834210
E-Mail sandtonshul@sandtonshul.co.za

MAZELTOV TO!