January 31, 2025

Candle-lighting: 5:05 p.m.

Dear Friends,


We are celebrating a triad of simchas this week. Two members of the Steering Committee and longtime members of the minyan, Howard Fredman and Jules Kamin, are both celebrating their birthdays, and another longtime member and the king of Neilah, Norm Saiger, will be chanting Haftarah on the 60th anniversary of his Bar Mitzvah. All three will be co-sponsoring the kiddush. Mazel tov and thank you to all of them.


Also, see below for some exciting upcoming events, as well as the most challenging Jewish trivia yet:


  • Shabbat Services
  • Mishnah Study
  • General Meeting - Feb. 15
  • Getty Tour - Feb. 9
  • Seeking Holocaust Survivors or Their Descendants
  • OscarsTM-Watching Party - March 2
  • Purim Seudah - Volunteers Needed
  • Torah Morsel
  • Upcoming Calendar
  • Donations This Week
  • Dear Libby
  • Haftara Plethora
  • Jewish Trivia

If you have questions or suggestions, or want to include something in a future Weekly Update, please email Joel Elkins at joel.elkins@gmail.com.


Shabbat Shalom!

Shabbat Services

Services begin at 9:45 a.m. in the Dorff-Nelson Chapel, followed by a kiddush sponsored by Howard Fredman and Jules Kamin on the occasion of their birthdays, and Norm Saiger on the 60th anniversary of his Bar Mitzvah.

Mishna Study

Henry Morgen will lead the study of the second Mishna in Chapter 17 of Tractate Shabbat. Mishna study begins at 9:15 a.m. in the Whiteman Conference Room and on Zoom.

General Meeting

The Minyan's annual General Meeting has been rescheduled to February 15 following services. If you have any suggested agenda items for the meeting, please contact Joel Elkins or Rachel Rubin-Green. Also, if you would like to contribute to the kiddush that day, you can do so here.

Getty Tour - Feb. 9

Reservations are now closed for the Library Minyan's private tour at the Getty Museum on Sunday, February 9th. If you have already RSVPed, you will be receiving an email with details prior to the event.

Seeking Holocaust Survivors or Their Descendants

Minyan member Phyllis Zimbler Miller has started a new podcast playlist "THINGS YOU DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE HOLOCAUST" on YouTube -- https://b.link/ThingsYouDidn'tKnowPlaylist -- and is interested in interviewing Holocaust survivors or their descendants. Email her at pzmiller@gmail.com if you would like to be a guest on her podcast.

OscarsTM-Watching Party

The second annual Library Minyan OscarsTM-Watching Party will take place on Sunday, March 2, beginning at 3:30 (due to the show's early start time). The event will include snacks, pizza and dessert, as well as a chance to win prizes if you can correctly predict the winners. RSVP is requested but not required. A recommended $10 donation is requested to cover food.

Purim Seudah - Volunteers Needed

The Library Minyan is once again hosting a Purim Seudah for the entire synagogue on March 16 (Sushan Purim). If you would like to help in any capacity (planning, organizing, performing, setting or cleaning up), please contact Joel Elkins or Rachel Rubin-Green.

Torah Morsel

This week's Torah Morsel on Bo is brought to us by Rabbi Gail Labovitz. If you would like to present one in the future, sign up here.

We tend to think of the Exodus as a distinctively Jewish experience – one of the most formative experiences for us as a nation. However, a verse in this week’s parashah, Ex. 12:38, notes:


Moreover, a mixed multitude went up with them…


But who was this “mixed multitude,” or at least who did the rabbis think they were? In rabbinic and later Jewish tradition, the “mixed multitude” is frequently seen as a source of discord for the Israelites during their time of wandering in the wilderness. But there is another way to understand them and their participation in the Exodus. According to the “under the line” commentary on this verse in Etz Hayim (built on a midrashic tradition), Egyptian society was divided in its responses to the enslavement of the Israelites:


“One third wanted to keep the Israelites as slaves [seeing nothing wrong with the structure of their society]. They died in the plagues.” 


“A second group supported Israel’s bid for liberation and rose in revolt against Pharaoh’s stubborn policies. These were the Egyptians who gave Israel gold, silver, and jewels as they prepared to leave…” But one gets the sense that holding the Israelites as slaves had simply become too onerous on themselves and their land, and they just wanted the perceived cause of the problem (the Israelites) to go away.


But then there is the last group: “A third group of Egyptians celebrated the Pesaḥ with Israel, and then left with them…” The midrash refers to this group – who throw their lot in with the Israelites – explicitly as k’sheirim, “proper ones.” In this midrash, the mixed multitude receive the highest praise of all.



The midrash poses a profound moral question. How do we respond to injustice and oppression within our society? Even when we stand in opposition, we are still faced with a choice. Do we only notice the problem when it impinges on us? Is it sufficient to want to make the problem go away, to put it out of sight, even if we give up some of our material wealth to make that happen? The midrash suggests there is another, deeper and harder way, but one whose practitioners are the true “proper ones.” It encourages us to ask ourselves: what does it take to actually join with the oppressed, to throw our lot in with theirs, to participate direct and bodily in the struggle for justice and liberation?

Upcoming Calendar

Below is a list of upcoming special kiddushes and events. If you would like to contribute to any of these (or to add another kiddush-worthy occasion), please click here and indicate the event in the notes.


2/9 - Private Getty Museum tour (by reservation)

2/15 - General Meeting of Library Minyan

2/22 - Lev Kligfeld Bar Mitzvah - Joint Service

3/2 - OscarTM-Watching Party

3/8 - Torah Club Shabbat

3/16 - Purim Seudah

5/17 - Jacki Honig celebrates her ordination

Donations This Week

Melissa & Michael Berenbaum

-in memory of Frumi Gluck's grandmother, Shirley Levitin

Susan Laemmle & John Antignas

-To honor and thank Joel Elkins for his service as Library Minyan Rosh and to welcome Rachel Rubin Green as incoming Rosh

Susan Laemmle & John Antignas

-in honor of the birth of Renana Ali Landau/Langer in Israel

Dear Libby

Dear Libby:

I have a confession. Earlier this week, I had an uncontrollable craving for bacon, and so I went to the supermarket and, afraid that someone I know might see me, I stuck some corn-fed Farmer John's under my shirt and walked out without paying. To make matters worse, I cooked it up in my kosher kitchen and ate it on my grandmother's china, and then cleaned everything up quickly so no would know. What to do?


RACKED WITH GUILT


Dear Racked:

Luckily for you there is a way out of this. As you may know, the term for the current minyan rosh is ending soon, so now would be a great time for securing a pardon for your recent sin-spree. Don't ask me how, but I happen to know that one can be had at very reasonable rates, for example by contributing to the kiddush on February 15. Don't miss this opportunity to save your soul from eternal damnation!

LIBBY


If you would like Libby to answer your questions or solve your problems, submit your questions and/or kvetches to dearlibby@libraryminyan.org

Haftarah Plethora

In the Haftarah Plethora episode for Parshat Bo, Larry points out that the subject of the Haftarah is the same as last week’s but from Jeremiah’s perspective rather than Ezekiel’s. Rick notes another similarity is the hopeful conclusion which the dramatic trope in the last two verses emphasizes. Shabbat Shalom.


You can see all of Larry and Rick's recordings here.

Jewish Trivia

Last week's questions: Do you know the meanings of these Yiddish phrases:

  1. Shnor - Answer: beg or wheedle
  2. Plotz - Answer: faint
  3. Tattele - Answer: father
  4. Balabusta - Answer: homemaker
  5. Momash - Answer: real 
  6. Pulkes - Answer: thighs
  7. Shayna punim - Answer: beautiful face
  8. Yiddishe kop - Answer: a smart person (literally, “Jewish head”)
  9. Shpilkes - Answer: agitation or impatience, “ants in ones pants”
  10. Sheifale - Answer: lamb, used as a term of endearment

Bonus: The Yiddish word "bubkes" is used to mean nothing. What does it mean literally? Answer: "Goat droppings."


This week's question:


Solve the following (research is permitted):

a = the current Hebrew year

b = how many knots on each tzitzit

c = age when a boy becomes a man

d = gematria of שבט

e = Moshe's age at the burning bush

f = number of Solomon's wives (not including concubines)

g = how many of each kosher animal on Noah's ark

(Answer next week.)

The Hesed Fund supports Library Minyan members during the birth/adoption of a child, illness or death in the family. The Outreach Fund supports new, particularly youth, membership. The General Fund goes for everyday expenses, primarily kiddushim. If you would like to make a donation to any of these funds, click here.