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OZ Weekly - Shoftim 5780 + High Holidays Update

08/21/2020 10:51:32 AM

Aug21

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High Holidays at OZ

  • Thank you for your patience as we finalize our High Holiday plans to ensure a safe, secure, and special experience for all of our members. Once the Rabbi and Gabbaim release the final schedule, seats will be announced available for purchase online. Please note that for this year reservations will need to be made for each service and location scheduled.

Help us close the Fiscal Year!

  • Check Your Account Balance & Support our Shul by Clicking HERE.

Submit your "Views from the Pews" to Office@OZNY.org

Mazel Tov

  • Rabbi Allen & Alisa Schwartz, on the wedding of their daughter Esti to Aaron Feldman
  • Gabe & Anat Levi, on the engagement of their daughter Tali to Zev Marcus
  • Andy & Ronnie Schonzeit, on the aufruf of their son Jeremy, and upcoming wedding to Lauren Shapiro
  • Tsivia Hochman & Tal Fishman on the birth of their daughter Ronit Lea
  • Rafi Murphy, on his aufruf and upcoming wedding to Shira Klein
  • Benji Fink, on his aufruf and upcoming wedding to Shaina Bedziner
  • Dr. Fred Hirsch, on being named the "Lung Cancer Hero of 2020" in recognition of his award winning Pulmonary research
  • The OZ Daf Yomi Chevra, on putting Massechet Shabbat to rest and getting rewired for Massechet Eiruvin

Minyan Update

  • Participants in Minyanim must follow all Shul & Social Distancing Guidelines, including wearing masks, sitting in marked seats, and following New York's self-quarantine rules
  • Rabbi Schwartz is emphatic that absolutely no one should feel any pressure to participate at this point.
  • Current Tefillah Times:
    • Shacharit
      • Shabbat: 7:30am, 9:15am
      • Sunday: 8:00am
      • Monday & Thursday: 6:00am, 6:50am, 7:50am
      • Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 6:00am, 7:00am, 8:00am
      • Rosh Chodesh: 6:00am, 6:45am, 7:45am
    • Mincha/Maariv
      • Zman - Please check Calendar

Youth Events

  • www.OZNY.org/Youth

Volunteers Needed

  • Please contact RAS@ozny.org to help shop for the homebound

OZ Online Opportunities - www.OZNY.org/Online, www.OZNY.org/Events

  • Daf Yomi Daily Conference Call

  • Zoom TNLP on Tuesdays starts at 7:30pm

  • Zoom Discover Judaism (Wednesdays) starts of 6:45pm

  • Stay Tuned for More... Events!

Parshat Shoftim 5780

Friday Night

  • 7:26pm - Candle Lighting

  • 7:35pm - Zman Minyan

  • 7:44pm - Shkiah

  • 8:34pm - Tzeit Hakochavim

Shabbat

  • 6:14am - Netz HaChama

  • 7:30am - Hashkama Minyan

  • 9:15am - Minyan

  • 9:35am - Latest Shema

  • 12:58pm - Chatzot

  • 7:25pm - Minyan

  • 7:43pm - Shkiah

  • 8:25pm - Maariv

  • 8:33pm - Havdalah / Tzeit HaKochavim

Weekday Minyanim 

  • Mincha/Maariv: 7:25pm
  • Sunday: 8:00am
  • Monday & Thursday: 6:00am, 6:50am, 7:50am
  • Tues., Wednes., Fri.: 6:00am, 7:00am, 8:00am

Rabbi Blanchard's Parsha Reflection

The pursuit of justice is at the heart of Judaism. O.K. It's a cliche but we need to note that it's an important cliche.  Justice and fairness are central ideals of the Bible and the rabbinic tradition. [Torah]. The Bible showcases both legal rules and principles of just law. Justice is in the law. But justice is also in the application of the law to specific cases, both in the correctness of the application---the just judgement that learned and expert judges make.. and also in the manner in which the correct ruling is reached-- the fairness. of the legal process which is impartial, treating all involved equally and with dignity, not letting either power or wealth determine how participants are treated. And, of course, the entire proceeding must also not only be, but also be seen to be fair and just. All told, in the Bible and its traditional commentaries, anything besides justice and fairness is crooked and perverse. 
 
Although we are not all judges, we spend a good deal of our lives making assessments and judgements of ourselves and of the people around us--our immediate family, our extended family [relatives], our friends and acquaintances, the leaders and members of the communities to which we belong.  Here too we need to be careful to seek justice and fairness. But life is not a court of law and so we need to do more. We also need to seek to love these people, to care about them and when possible even to help  them.  
 
Much of the complexity and difficulty of our lives derives in part from the fact that the pursuit of justice and fairness is a central ideal of our lives. But it results just as much from our hope that we can find and also sometimes go to a realm beyond judgement and justice to a place of love, forgiveness, acceptance and reconciliation.   The Hebrew Bible and rabbinic tradition teaches, urges, even demands that we pursue both of these ideals. But we find no clear statement of how to do both at once. Again we find that we need courage, faith and persistence. There is the transcendent  spirituality of our lives.
 
These thoughts are the result of my reflections on Deuteronomy 16:18ff. and the traditional rabbinic commentary on them. 

 

 

Sat, May 3 2025 5 Iyyar 5785