Special Guest Speakers:
Friday Night: Rabbi David Stav of Zohar:
"Jewish Observance - Coercion and Freedom". Service commences 5:45pm
Shabbos Day: Rabbi Benjamin Yasgur of Boca Raton:
"The Caterer, The Customer and A Crisis"
Rabbi's Message
Adapting to Change - How, When and Why?
Dear [first_name],
Everyone knows about Moses hitting the rock. It was, as they say, an expensive mistake. It cost him his visa into the Land of Israel.
What is not readily understood is why hitting the rock was considered such a terrible sin. After all, when the Israelites first entered the desert and were in need of water, G-d Himself told Moses to hit the rock Now, forty years into their walk in the wilderness, Miriam dies and the rock dries up. Water is again on the agenda. Only this time - hitting is not in order, only speaking is. Why?
The Midrash explains that the difference is the time lapse. Just because something worked once, doesn't mean it will work again! You have to adapt to changing circumstances - and it takes great wisdom to know if, when and how.
I'm not only talking about adapting to technology or changed outer circumstances. The people closest to us are also in a state of flux - and it's a challenge to adapt to the ever-changing nature of the relationship. Let me give an example.
I know it's not the contemporary view, but Maimonides gives us pretty clear guidelines for educating children. When a child is young, says Maimonides, you need to treat him one way, when she's older, another. To encourage a young child to study Maimonides suggests bribing him with sweets or nuts. When they are a little older, he recommends giving the child money. Older still, honour. When they mature, he advocates promising them the World to Come. And if they finally get it - they will do the right thing because it is the right thing - without any ulterior motive.
Similarly, when it comes to discipline - when a child is young, corporal punishment is at times in order. As King Solomon, the wisest of men, says in Proverbs: One who withholds the staff, hates his son. Yet the Code of Jewish Law says that hitting an older child is a grave sin. Clearly what is appropriate at one stage of our relationship with our children is totally inappropriate at another.
Moses' error in hitting the rock underscores how failure to adapt to changes in our relationships comes at our peril.
With best wishes from the Rebbetzen and all of us at South Head
Rabbi Benzion Milecki OAM
Click here to read Rabbi Milecki's tribute to Elie Wiesel on Friday, July 8
President's Message
Daily Minyan
I remember well the day my father died. It was January 29, 1969. He worked the afternoon shift (4.00pm to midnight) at a big sorting station of the US Post Office and would often sleep late into the mornings. I was 16 years old; it was my last year of high school. I did not go to school that day because I was going to an interview at Columbia College, where I had applied for university admission (and subsequently studied). My mother, who was a social worker with the New York City Welfare Department, telephoned a little before noon and asked me to go wake up my father and make sure that he was alright. I went in my parents’ bedroom but he had died in his sleep. My father, Ralph, was 54 years old. He had suffered his first heart attack three years earlier, some 6 weeks before my bar mitzvah. Read More
Kiddush Sponsors
Sean Rohald & Melissa Zemanek
This weeks Kiddush has been sponsored by Sean Rohald and Melissa Zemanek in celebration of Sean's Ufruf this Shabbat. South Head would like to wish a hearty Mazal Tov to Sean, Melissa and the entire Mishpocha!
If you would like to sponsor a Kiddush in honour of a Simcha or a Yahrzeit please contact Shmuly on 0401 558 223 or shmuly@southhead.org.
Kollel
Evening Learning Program
This past Wednesday, we continued the South Head evening Kollel. We had seven learning groups studying topics including, Jewish law, parasha, Jewish philosophy and mysticism.
The Kollel is a weekly event from 7:30-8:30pm Wednesday evenings. All are invited to attend and participate in learning that is of interest to them with our Kollel instructors.
For more information, please be in contact with Shmuly Kleiner on 0401 558 223.
Youth News
We're Here For You!
This week we had an amazing time at Camp Shalom with over 150 children with us over the week. We had an amazing time on our trips; Trees Adventure, Ultimate Inflatables, Disney on Ice. We also learnt many things such as the importance of having Ahavat Yisrael, the Parasha, and team work. Each day the children davened, sang, laughed and had an absolute blast, and of course learned heaps. We can't wait to see everyone in shule!
Don't forget to save the date for Bless the Kids which is coming up on the 30th of July #woohoo.
Wishing you and your family Shabbat Shalom,
Tzemach, Roli & Yeruchum
For all information on upcoming youth events please contact us on 9371 7300 ext 3 or 0412 482 770 or youth@southhead.org
200 Years of Hindsight
Rabbi Rafael Zamir
I grew up in a non-chasidic background and interestingly enough, I married a girl from a Lubavitcher family. From the beginning, she asked me to accept Chabad customs and the Rebbe’s directives upon myself. For a while I resisted – I would keep my own customs while she kept hers. For instance, on Passover, she would eat hand-made matzah while I ate mine machine-made; she would keep her matzah dry, while I would dip mine in liquid. Read More
Parasha Sheet
Parashat Chukat
Q. The Parasha speaks of three outstanding miracles: the 'Clouds of Glory', the Manna and the ‘Well of Miriam’. What were the essential characteristics of these three miracles?
A. The 'Clouds of Glory' protected the Jewish people externally. They protected them from harsh winds, dangerous animals and they cleaned and pressed the Israelites' clothes. The Manna was a wonderful food which would taste according to what the person eating it desired. Food is something that is absorbed internally and provides nourishment and sustenance. The ‘Well of Miriam’ was a source of water. The principal function of water is to act as a medium to carry food to all parts of the body. Read More
Communal Events
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