Author: shamyr

Parashat Vayakhel (ויקהל – And he assembled himself) Exodus 35:1 – 38:20

In the Parasha Vayakhel, Moshe recalls the command to observe the Shabbat, then asks the people to bring the materials to make the tabernacle and the sacred utensils.

Parshat Shekalim (שקלים – Shekels) Exodus 30:11 – 30:16

The Shabbat which precedes the month of Adar (Adar II in embolismic years, like this year 5782 / 2022) is called Shekalim where it is remembered that every male adult, over the age of 20, had to give half a shekel for the needs of public sacrifices. A tiny stone weight from the First Temple period has been discovered during excavations near the Western Wall. This extremely rare and tiny weight bears the inscription bekah (half shekel) in ancient Hebrew script. It weighs 5.67 grams. During the day, the silver beka is equivalent to €3.80, ₪14.10, $4.30 or £3.20.

It is customary to make a donation to works, during the month of Adar, in remembrance of the half-shekel (זכר למחצית השקל – zekher le-machatzit ha-shekel). The most appropriate time to make this gift is the one before the Mincha service, before the Purim fast, in order to associate the Tzedaqah with the fast, contributing to the atonement (Mishna Berura 694, 4, Kaf Ha chaim 25). Some believe it is right for every member of the family, even the fetus in its mother’s womb, to give tzedakah in remembrance of the half-shekel (Kaf Hachaim 694, 27).

זכזכ לאבלאבםם ליצחק וליששאל עבדיך, אשאש נשבעת ללם בך, ותדבתדב אלאלם, אאבב את – זזעכם ככוכבי שמשמים; וכל-הארץ הזאת אשר אמרתי, אתן לזרעכם, ונחלו, לעֹלם
Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by yourself, saying to them, I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven; and all this country that I have designated, I will give it to your posterity, who will possess it forever!

Moshe pleads for forgiveness of the fault of the golden calf. He is heard and God reiterates his promise made to the patriarchs.
The first mention of the existence of Jews in Ulm is recorded in the imperial tax book of 1241. In all European communities, Jews experience moments of tranquility followed by periods of violence. In 1499, the Jews were expelled from the city and it was not until 1856 that a real Jewish community was reformed. In 1873, a synagogue was built. In 1938, it was slightly damaged during Reich pogrom night, then razed by order of the mayor, a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP).
In 2012, a new synagogue was built. The architects Johannes Kister, Reinhard Scheithauer and Susanne Gross multiplied the perforations in the facade to create windows with patterns in the shape of a Star of David that illuminate the arch and radiate the synagogue outwards. The limestone used resembles that of many buildings constructed in Eretz Israel. The prayer hall, centered on the diagonal of the building, points exactly in the direction of Jerusalem. The central dodecagon-shaped light symbolizes the twelve tribes.

:ואתה תצַוה את – בני ישראל, ויקחו אליך שמן זית זך כתית – למאור: להעלת נר, תמיד
And you, you will order the children of Israel that they take for you pure oil of crushed olives for the light, in order to make perpetual light rise.

The Talmud teaches that the light of the Menorah spreads not only inside the sanctuary, but also outwards to illuminate the whole world.
In the Torah, service is presented as elevation and not just kindling (להעלת from עלה = to rise, to climb, to migrate [to Israel]). Our Sages specify that the light of the Menorah is none other than that of the Torah and that it must rise through progressive and incessant work. Lighting is mentioned three times in the Torah (Tetsaveh, Emor, Behaalotekha), which shows the importance of this prescription.

The synagogue of Capernaum, which can be visited today, was built in the 4th or 5th century, probably on the foundations of a 1st century synagogue. On the site, a bas-relief representing a candlestick with 7 branches and an olive oil press were found. Located in the north of Jerusalem, the synagogue, oriented north-south, consists of an atrium (main hall), a prayer hall, a patio, a balustrade and a small room.

The synagogues are certainly not the Temple whose reconstruction is long awaited, but they are the testimonies of the existence of a past or present Jewish life. Built in different regions and at different times, these buildings nourished by memory prove to be the will of men to sanctify the Eternal.
My modest contribution is to feed this memory week after week, party after party.
The Great Synagogue of Budapest or Dohány Synagogue is considered the largest in Europe. Above the monumental entrance door is inscribed the verse (Exodus 25:8):

ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם

And they will build me a sanctuary and I will dwell in the midst of them.

The synagogue was built between 1854 and 1859 by the Viennese architect Ludwig Förster in a Moorish style inspired by the Alhambra in Granada. The interior decoration is partly due to Frigyes Feszl. During the inauguration, Franz Liszt played the organ there. During World War II the building suffered severe damage. Its restoration started in 1991, financed by the State and by private donations, in particular those of Estée Lauder and Tony Curtis, was completed in 1998.
In front of the synagogue, a small square bears the name of Theodor Herzl, born in a neighboring house in 1860. The Memory Park adjoining the synagogue houses the memorial of the 600,000 Hungarian Jewish Martyrs and that of the Righteous Among the Nations (Raoul Wallenberg, Carl Lutz, Gertrud Lutz-Fankhauser, Giorgio Perlasca, Ángel Sanz Briz, Angelo Rotta, Friedrich Born, who saved tens of thousands of Hungarian Jews).

The parsha begins with the phrase וְאֵלֶּה (and behold) which introduces a new dimension to what has been formulated previously. It is the continuity of the ten commandments. In this parasha are promulgated laws on the following subjects: the widow, the orphan, the bride, the parents, the slave, the foreigner, the convert, the courts, the judges, the damage caused to others, the princes , idolatry, Shabbat, shmita, festivals, etc.

L’Orfana Del Ghetto (The Orphan Of The Ghetto), a novel written by Carolina Invernizio in 1899, gives an insight into life in the Cuneo ghetto where the synagogue built in 1611 is located. In 1884, the synagogue was completely renovated in a baroque style, and a facade, opening onto the street by two arched doors reminiscent of the tables of the law, is added. On the ground floor, a library collects texts on the history of the Jews of Piedmont. On the first floor in the prayer hall there is a painted wooden arch, an example of the Venetian Baroque style. On the second floor is the matroneum (עזרת נשים‎ = ezrat nashim).

The Jewish community of Cuneo was once one of the largest in PiedThe Jewish community of Cuneo was once one of the largest in Piedmont. Now reduced to a few families, the synagogue is however still in use.

The Decalogue (The Ten Words) is read during the sixth aliyah (20:2-17).
The Ten Sayings are inscribed in two parashioth, that of Yitro and that of Va’et’hanan.

A controversy sometimes arises as to whether the faithful should stand or not during the reading. Standing up could mean giving greater importance to these Ten Words than to the rest of the Torah.

In the Synagogue of Subotica, Tablets of the Law were placed at the top of the main entrance and above the Hekhal. It is the second largest in Europe. It was designed by architects Marcell Komor and Dezső Jakab. The stained glass windows come from Miksa Róth’s workshop and the ceramics from Zsolnay. It is characteristic of the Secession-Hungarian style (current of Art-Nouveau). It is included in the list of cultural monuments of exceptional importance of the Republic of Serbia. It was renovated in March 2018.

Before World War II, the Jewish community numbered about 6,000, of whom only about 1,000 survived the Holocaust. Today, only 200 Jews live in Subotica.

Tu B’Shvat is a rabbinical institution holiday. It is referred to in the Mishnah as the New Year of Trees. Under the impetus of the kabbalists of Safed, Tu B’Shvat becomes the celebration of the renewal of the Land of Israel. In 1890, to celebrate Tu B’Shvat in the spirit of the Kabbalists, Rabbi Ze’ev Yavetz (d. 1924, Shevat 18) took his students to plant trees in Zikhron Yaakov. In 1907, in this continuity and in memory of Theodor Herzl, the KKL planted the first forest in Israel at Houlda. This is composed mainly of olive trees.
The Abuhav Synagogue is a Sephardic synagogue built in the 16th century in Safed. The architecture of the building is inspired by the Kabbalistic teachings of Rabbi Isaac Abouhav, one of the great sages of Castile in the 15th century. Among his students was Rabbi Ya’acov Beirav, who settled in Safed and became one of the city’s leading sages. It was perhaps he who brought the oldest Sefer Torah from Safed written by Isaac Abuhav. The synagogue was damaged in the earthquake of 1837.
The current paintings are by Israeli artist Ziona Tagger: trees, symbols of the tribes of Israel, musical instruments used in the Temple, 4 crowns (Torah, priesthood, royalty and redemption), …

Shabbat Shira, Parashat Beshelach (בשלח – when she let go), Exodus 13:17-17, 16.

The Parsha Bechalach contains the Shira (15:1-18) sung in chorus by Moshe and the Hebrews and the Song of the Women (15:20-21) sung by Miriam and the women. As for the haftarah (Judges 4:4–5:31), it contains the chant (5:1-31) of Dvorah and Barak.The Levites sang in the temple, but modern singing in the synagogue only appeared in the 17th century. In the 19th century, synagogues whose ceremony was accompanied by choral singing were called choral synagogues. The Jews received citizenship from Grand Duke Witold in 1389 and settled in Hrodna (Grodna). In the 19th century more than 60% of the population were Jews. There are many synagogues and yeshivas in the city. The Great Synagogue of Hrodna was built by Ilya Fronkin, between 1902 and 1905, in a very eclectic style, inspired by Moorish art, on the site of two former synagogues, which were destroyed during fires, one in 1677 and the other in 1899. 1941, the interior of the synagogue was vandalized by the Nazis and the rich decoration was heavily damaged. During the Soviet Union (1944-1991) it was used as a warehouse. In 1991 it was returned to the Jewish community (0.3% of the population) and was fully restored between 2012-2015.

Parashat Bo (בא – Go), Exodus 10:1–13:16.

G. send the three last plagues: locusts, darkness, and the death of the firstborn.

Synagogues were numerous in the main big cities of Algeria but also in very remote small villages where a very ancient Judaism was practiced often pre-existing to Islam.
The town of Laghouat is located on Oued Mzi, to the south-east of the Djebel Amour massif, in the foothills of the Saharan Atlas; it has a vast palm grove, in the shade of which some cereals and fruit trees are grown. The Jews occupied the lower part of the Ahlaf and Ouled Serguine districts. They did heavy and dirty work. The Jews were subordinates and laborers in the service of the Muslims. The year 1967 marked the departure of the last Jew from Laghouat, a woman in this case.

The region of Laghouat had to undergo during the spring of 1933 an invasion of locusts of such importance that the oldest inhabitants did not remember to have seen any similar.
In 2020, locusts invaded East Africa. 360 billion locusts devoured crops at a frightening rate. FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) experts believe that this scourge could become much worse in the coming months and that insects will invade North Africa and the Middle East.
These immense clouds of locusts darken the sky to the point of making the sun disappear. If nothing is done, it could lead to millions of deaths.

Parsha Va’era (וארא – And I Appeared), Exodus 6:2–9:35
Exodus 7:9
יְדַבֵּר אֲלֵכֶם פַּרְעֹה לֵאמֹר, תְּנוּ לָכֶם מוֹפֵת; וְאָמַרְתָּ אֶל-אַהֲרֹן, קַח אֶת-מַטְּךָ וְהַשְׁלֵךְ לִפְנֵי-פַרְעֹο
When Pharaoh says to you: Give me proof of your mission, you will say to Aaron: Take your staff and throw it before Pharaoh, so that he becomes a crocodile.

In verse 29:3 of the haftarah (Ezekiel 28:25-29:21), it is written:

הִנְנִי עָלֶיךָ פַּרְעֹה מֶלֶךְ-מִצְרַיִם, הַתַּנִּים הַגָּדוֹל, הָרֹבֵץ בְּתוֹךְ יְאֹרָיו: אֲשֶׁר לִ לִי יְאֹרִי, וַאֲנִי עֲשִׂיתִנִי …
… Behold, I come against you, Pharaoh, king of Egypt, great crocodile,
lying in the midst of your rivers, you who say: My river is mine, I created it.

Aaron’s staff turns into a crocodile and devours the staffs changed into crocodiles of the Egyptian wizards. Pharaoh thus suffered his first defeat.
The coat of arms of Nîmes represents defeated Egypt (a crocodile chained to a palm tree). The Synagogue of Nîmes built in 1793 was restored in 1893 and the current facade dates from this period. Since then, it has not undergone any notable change. The prayer hall is on the first floor while on the ground floor are the Rabbi’s quarters, the Matzos oven and the Mikveh.
The Jewish community of Nîmes counted among its members Adolphe Crémieux (Isaac-Jacob Crémieux), the author of the famous decree of 1870 which freed the 35,000 Jews of Algeria from the status of dhimmi and made them French citizens.