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Dear Chaverim:
Just a reminder: A family is looking for a home for its Sefer Torah and a minyan where the Torah will be used at least occasionally. It has been computer checked. If your shul or school needs an additional Sefer Torah, please let me know. Note – the klaf is “mashuach” – and thus the Sefer is heavy. Please check with your posek as well on the kashrus of this klaf.
I) Resource Material for Tisha B'Av
The following is to let you know what to expect to receive from us in the coming days for preparation for Tisha B'Av:
1. Kinnos and Derashah Materials
- My team is preparing extensive chomer on the kinnos in general, and on particular kinnos, in light of the matzav.
- Please feel free to share! If you have thoughts that can be used by your chaveirim, please forward to me by Rosh Chodesh Av for consideration for inclusion in the packet.
- A collection of stories related to Oct. 7 that can be used for derashos and kinnos commentary.
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Tzohar will be coming out with an online digital booklet including 10 stories [mentioned below], including both destruction from 10/7 as well as rebuilding and heroism (i.e.- נחמה), articles, as well as a קינה on the destruction of בארי.
2. Links to purchase books
3. Kinnos for Oct. 7
- We will share with you, in Hebrew and, bli neder, with translation, a number of Kinnos to commemorate Oct. 7.
- There will be a kinah from Tzohar on the destruction of Kibbutz Be’eri.
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See this article from Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter about the issue of writing new kinnos.
4. Videos
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Serving on All Fronts: The Etzion Foundation is offering a special program and film screening for your community. The documentary "Serving on All Fronts” tells the story of the “Swords of Iron War" through the eyes of students, staff, and alumni of Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shvut and the Stella K. Abraham Beit Midrash for Women in Migdal Oz. The film describes their heroic, inspirational, and at times tragic experiences through the prism of unwavering belief in God. 60 minutes. Please register by August 5th Click: Registration Form for Screening of Movie Serving on All Fronts
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OU offerings, https://www.ou.org/tishabav/
II) Chomer Lidrush – Pinchas
1. Individual Effort
“The consensus, it seems, is that one man by himself can do little, if anything, in the face of evil or injustice.” Pinchas, grandson of Aharon Hakohen, is celebrated for his individual effort that earned him a covenant of peace and eternal kehunah. Our former Executive Vice President, Rabbi Basil Herring, explores Pinchas’ example of acting as “one man, all alone … against a status quo that was led by a man of superior standing and authority.” We all wish for change in the world; Pinchas did something to enact it. Full piece from The Jewish Imagination here.
See a similar idea, with additional mareh mekomos from R. Ben Zion Firer’s Hegyonah shel Torah here.
One can also connect a fascinating piece from Rav Hirsch zt”l on the connection between Pinchas and Eliyahu and always fighting for what’s right. Particularly now, in our own day and age, it is our task, first and foremost, to do battle for our most sacred values, to muster the courage to make our convictions known, to isolate ourselves and, if need be, to remain isolated in our beliefs. We must nurture, at least within the small circles of our homes and families, a secure future for that righteousness and valor which we regard as everlasting and inalienable.
Full text, from Collected Writings, here.
2. Stand Down – and the Power Of Apologies (even if you did nothing wrong!)
Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s “admission” of sinning against the moon models proper extraction of oneself from machlokes.
(See sources below. We are sorry if the texts do not appear properly on your computer)
.שבועות ט
אמר ר"ל: מה נשתנה שעיר של ראש חודש שנאמר בו לה'? אמר הקב"ה: שעיר זה יהא כפרה על שמיעטתי את הירח
:חולין ס
רבי שמעון בן פזי רמי, כתיב: "ויעש א-לוקים את שני המאורות הגדולים" וכתיב: "את המאור הגדול... ואת המאור הקטן"! אמרה ירח לפני הקב"ה: רבש"ע, אפשר לשני מלכים שישתמשו בכתר אחד? אמר לה: לכי ומעטי את עצמך! אמרה לפניו: רבש"ע, הואיל ואמרתי לפניך דבר הגון, אמעיט את עצמי? אמר לה: לכי ומשלי ביום ובלילה, אמרה ליה: מאי רבותיה, דשרגא בטיהרא מאי אהני? אמר לה: זיל, לימנו בך ישראל ימים ושנים, אמרה ליה: יומא נמי, אי אפשר דלא מנו ביה תקופותא, דכתיב "והיו לאותות ולמועדים ולימים ושנים", זיל, ליקרו צדיקי בשמך: "יעקב הקטן" "שמואל הקטן" "דוד הקטן". חזייה דלא קא מיתבא דעתה, אמר הקב"ה: הביאו כפרה עלי שמיעטתי את הירח! והיינו דאמר ר"ש בן לקיש: מה נשתנה שעיר של ראש חדש שנאמר בו " לה'"? - אמר הקב"ה: שעיר זה יהא כפרה על שמיעטתי את הירח
Oftentimes, a disagreement can only be resolved by one side stepping back. After all, it takes two to sustain a conflict. God asks the moon to do just that – to minimize itself and withdraw from a situation that can have no true winner. Remarkably, Hashem then models this very trait by apologizing to the moon. Had God done anything wrong? It is impossible to say so. So why apologize? To make the moon feel "whole" again. The divine apology mirrors the moon’s gesture to the sun, serving as a paradigm for interpersonal behavior. Yes, sometimes we must stand down to end an uncomfortable situation. And yes, sometimes an apology, even if one believes they have done nothing wrong, can be the perfect solution to a seemingly insoluble problem.
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