Kehillas Achim

The Congregation of Russian Jews

Rabbi Paysach Diskind

410-486-6644  www.achim.org

27 Elul, 5768

September 27, 2008

Weekly Bulletin

Nitzavim

Volume VII

Issue 51

Torah Thoughts by R. Paysach Diskind

How fortunate we, the Jewish people are! No matter where we are, whether in the Land of Israel or Russia, whether in the times of the temple or 2,000 years later we are always in constant communication with our Director, HaShem. Every Shabbos morning we go to the synagogue open our sidurim (prayer books) and talk to Him. After reciting the morning service we take out the Torah and read the Parsha and hear a current and timely message from HaShem talking to us. This is the diet of the Jew. We tell our needs to HaShem and HaShem tells us what He expects from us. This is the case with every Parsha. With some Parshios we find a message or two and sometimes three or four that are relevant to the current time. In the Parsha we read tomorrow, Nitzavim, every verse relates to us in a most timely fashion. Let us attempt to go through the Parsha and appreciate the message HaShem is giving us. (With only 40 verses, Nitzavim happens to be the second smallest Parsha in the Torah. So it should not take too long.)

Before beginning we need to be aware of where we stand today. We are all standing just days before Rosh Hashanah, the day on which every Jew, young and old, man and woman, religious and non-religious is judged by HaShem and decisions and destinies are determined based on every individual’s actions, words and thoughts. We are on the eve of our greatest court case.

Let us begin the Parsha. The first verse opens, “You are standing today, all of you, before HaShem, your G.D, your leaders, your tribes, your elders and your officers, every man of Israel. Your little ones, your wives, the strangers who have joined you …” Behold, Moshe addresses all those assembled at the synagogue tomorrow and calls on us to recognize how “HaShem is passing us over into the covenant with Him so that He may establish us this day for Himself as a people and that He may be to us as a G.D.”

In last week’s Parsha Moshe told his people of the great blessing that awaited them if they followed in the ways of the Torah and if their lives reflected the expectations HaShem set for them. Moshe told his people of the horrific curse that equally awaited them in the event they defected from the ways of the Torah and if their lives did not reflect the expectations HaShem set for us. As our Parsha continues to unfold Moshe tells his people that the blessing and the curse and the covenant on which they are based are not limited to the people of that generation with whom Moshe was speaking. They are not limited to the people entering the Land. “And not with you alone do I make this covenant and this oath; but with him that is here with us standing before HaShem our G.D this day and with him that is not here this day.” The blessing and the curse, the judgment which HaShem judges His people relates to His people in every generation that will yet come. Moshe continues to extend the scope of this covenant to include not only the nation as a whole but every “man or woman or family or tribe whose heart turns away from HaShem…” Moshe warns us that the expectations being set for us in this Torah apply to every generation of Jews as well as every individual Jew. So as we approach Rosh Hashanah we must keep the following mantra running through our minds; “The Torah is Jewish – are you?”

As we continue to relate the Parsha to our current time, allow me to point out that this is the final week in which HaShem consoles us over the destruction of the Temple that took place on Tisha b’Av. With this in mind perhaps we will appreciate the timeliness of our Parsha.

“And it will come to pass when all these things have passed over you, the blessing and the curse, then you will take to heart, among the nations where HaShem dispersed you; and you will return to HaShem and listen to His voice, you and your children with all your heart and all your soul.” Please take note how Moshe is not talking to the people who are present at the time of his speech which took place long before any blessings or curse passed over us. (Moshe uses you referring to people of a much later period.) Moshe is addressing the people of a much later millennium, perhaps the generation that lived after the worst destruction that the Jewish people experienced in the lands where HaShem dispersed them. Moshe continues “Then HaShem will bring back your captivity and have mercy upon you, and He will return and gather you in from all the peoples to whom He scattered you…” We, the Jewish people living post-Holocaust, are the first generation to see the realization of this prophecy. The Jewish communities of Iran and Iraq as well as the communities of Yemen and the Caucuses have been in their respective locations for over 2,500 years. In our days we have seen every one of these ancient communities suddenly being gathered in together!

As we continue reading the Parsha the prophecy begins to become a bit more elusive. “HaShem will bring you to the Land that your forefathers possessed and you shall possess it… HaShem will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring to love HaShem with all your heart and all your soul…” The commentaries explain the notion of circumcision of the heart as a reference to the removal of the barriers that lie over the heart of Man which implore him to turn away from the Torah ways. Once this circumcision is accomplished Man will no longer be attracted to those activities that draw him away from spiritual purity. This is a reference to the period that will follow the coming of Mashiach.

Moshe is telling us the single most important step that we can take, after all the blessings and curses have occurred, for the betterment of our people is to “return to HaShem and listen to His voice” because only then will “HaShem bring back our captivity” and only then can we hope to possess the Land that our forefathers possessed and finally attain the circumcision of our hearts.

That “returning to HaShem” is what we refer to as Teshuva. So many of you are experiencing your own Teshuva journey. The stations in which you find yourselves may mislead you to believe that you are still far from Teshuva, such as the individual who strives to keep Shabbos properly but is having difficulty doing so at this time or the high school student who struggles to keep kosher but finds it challenging at home. To you I say with much admiration “how fortunate you are to demonstrate your commitment to the ways of His Torah as you tenaciously struggle and await the opportunity to move to the next level”. You truly are in the process of Teshuva.

And as you keep that mantra in your mind “The Torah is Jewish – are you?” respond in a clear and unambiguous voice “Yes, I too am Jewish”. And know that your journey begins the realization of HaShem’s circumcising the hearts of Man so that we shall finally return to HaShem with all our heart and all our soul. Before I sign off it is my prayer that I too will be able to be considered among those who do a true Teshuva.

Have a wonderful Shabbos and have a k’siva v’chasim tova (a successful court case this Rosh Hashanah)

Paysach Diskind

Shabbos Schedule for Baltimore

Friday Candles                    6:39 pm

Havdalah, Saturday            7:40 pm

Kehillas Achim wishes everyone a happy, healthy and fruitful year this coming year of 5769. May we see the realization of the prophecies of this week’s Parsha that HaShem will circumcise our hearts and the hearts of our children to love HaShem with all our heart and all our soul.

Kehillas Achim will be holding a complete unabridged Yom Kippur service at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frankie Storch. There will be Kol Nidre the night of Wednesday, October 8 as well as a full service davening Thursday, October 9. The details of the schedule will be coming after Rosh Hashanah. Please note that this year the Storch home cannot accommodate any children. The room that was used to watch the children is not available this year.

e-Jew-cation

·         Mrs. Tamar Englander class for women about Midos, character traits. If you are interested in joining you may contact Mrs. Tamar Englander at 410.764.6223 or contact Paysach Diskind at 443.286.9338 or paysach@achim.org

·         Would like to learn how to read your own language? Call Yakov Krug (410)274-5446 for a free Hebrew reading class

·         Have you read The Book? Join a small group to hear explanations of Torah. R.Diskind gives a class every Tuesday at 8 PM. For more information call 410-486-6644.

·         Discussion group for women every Wednesday 9 PM at Mrs. Ester Krug house. The topic is role of Jewish woman in the today’s world. Ester can be reached at 410-653-9794.

Хасидская притча

Тора отдаляет человека от низменного,

земля же Израиля поднимает низменное до святого.

р.Арье-Лейб из Гур

Achim Corner

• Reb Paysach Diskind will be having a Rosh Hashanah service on Tuesday, September 30 at the Milbrook Synagogue. The service will include Shofar blowing and a short prayer service. It will take place at 5:00.
• There will also be a Yom Kippur service that will also include Yizkor on Thursday, October 9 at the Milbrook Synagogue. It will take place at 3:00.
• R. Paysach class “The Mitzvos of the Torah: What are they?”  every Wednesday evening 7:30 – 8:30 at the home of Meir and Leah Lazar (2434 Forest Green Rd. 21209) For more information call 443.286.9338 or paysach@achim.org
• Rabbi Paysach continues class “Weekly Torah portion” Mondays 8PM by Boris and Yelena Malachevsky’s house, 3002 Lightfoot
• Sunday Shacharis at 8:15 in Millbrook shull followed by question and answer discussion with R.Paysach.

Web surfers, visit

·         www.evrey.com very interesting and informative site in Russian

·         www.sedmoykanal.com latest news from Israel in Russian

·         www.toldot.ru works of young, energetic, ambitious Russian-speaking bnei Torah, who have been studying in the best Israeli and American yeshivos. Смотрите и слушайте видео-лекции на http://tv.toldot.ru/ В частности, коментарии Рав Ашера Кушнира на книгу «Путь правeдных»

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