STOP PRESS: Saturday Night 6.30
Tisha B'Av Presentation Featuring Chief Rabbi Warren Goldstein

As Rabbi Milecki was unable to write this week he asked that we share this brief synopsis on Tisha B'Av written by his nephew Rabbi Yossi Morozov of Ulyanovsk, Russia.

This Sunday the Jewish nation will commemorate Tisha B'Av. (Actually, this year Tisha B'Av falls on Shabbos and is therefore postponed until Sunday, the 10th of Av).

On Tisha B'Av, five national calamities occurred:

1. During the time of Moses, Jews in the desert accepted the slanderous report of the 10 Spies, and the decree was issued forbidding them from entering the Land of Israel. (1312 BCE)
2. The First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians, led by Nebuchadnezzar. 100,000 Jews were slaughtered and millions more exiled. (586 BCE)
3. The Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans, led by Titus. Some two million Jews died, and another one million were exiled. (70 CE)
4. The Bar Kochba revolt was crushed by the Roman Emperor Hadrian. The city of Betar – the Jews' last stand against the Romans – was captured and liquidated. Over 100,000 Jews were slaughtered. (135 CE)
5. The Temple area and its surroundings were plowed under by the Roman general Turnus Rufus. Jerusalem was rebuilt as a pagan city – renamed Aelia Capitolina – and access was forbidden to Jews.

Other grave misfortunes throughout Jewish history occurred on the Ninth of Av, including:

• The Jews of England were expelled by King Edward I on this date in 1290. 
• The Spanish Inquisition culminated with the expulsion of Jews from Spain on Tisha B'Av in 1492.
• World War One broke out on the eve of Tisha B'Av in 1914 when Germany declared war on Russia. German resentment from the war set the stage for the Holocaust.
• On the eve of Tisha B'Av 1942, the mass deportation began of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto, en route to Treblinka.

Restrictions on Tisha B'Av
Upon sundown, August 13, 2016, we begin the following expressions of mourning:

1. No eating or drinking until nightfall the following evening.
2. Those who are old, weak, ill, nursing or expecting should consult with a rabbi. (As this year it is a postponed fast there are leniencies that don't normally apply).
3. Medicine may be taken on Tisha B'Av, preferably without water.
4. In case of great discomfort, the mouth may be rinsed with water. Care should be taken not to swallow anything.
5. No bathing or washing, except for removing specific dirt.
6. In the morning, hands are washed only until the knuckles.
7. No annointing oneself for pleasure. (Deodorant is permitted.)
8. No marital relations.
9. No wearing leather shoes. (Leather belts may be worn.)
10. No learning Torah, since this is a joyful activity. (It is permitted to learn texts relevant to mourning – e.g. the Book of Lamentations, Book of Job, etc.)
11. No sitting higher than a foot off the ground. After midday, one may sit on a chair.
12. Refraining from greeting others (even saying Hello) or offering gifts.

Prayers on Tisha B'Av

1. Lights in the synagogue are dimmed and the curtain is removed from the Ark. The cantor leads the prayers in a low, mournful voice.
2. Havdallah is not recited but the blessing on the Havdallah candle is recited.
3. The Book of Eicha (Lamentations), Jeremiah's poetic lament over the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple is read.
4. Since Tefillin and Tallis represent glory and decoration, they are not worn in the morning (at Shacharit). Rather, they are worn in the afternoon (at Mincha), as certain mourning restrictions are lifted.
5. Shacharis is followed with recitals of dirges and lamentations commemorating the tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people.
6. Nachem and Anenu are recited at Mincha
7. After Maariv on Sunday evening Havdallah is recited, hands are fully washed and the Blessing on the New Moon is recited.

We hope and pray for Moshiach's arrival before Tisha B'Av but if G-d forbid his arrival is delayed we wish you an easy fast.

President's Message
Kiwi Shabbat

Condolences to Rabbi Milecki
Rabbi Milecki’s father, Alex Milecki (Eliyahu ben Yerachmiel Chaim), passed away in Melbourne on Tuesday night. We offer our deepest condolences to Rabbi Milecki, his mother Lily, his sister Shani Aron and to all their families. Rabbi Milecki was at his father’s bedside and has remained in Melbourne for the funeral and the shiva.

Kiwis
I love New Zealand and New Zealanders. I have visited about a dozen times, sometimes for business, mostly for pleasure. It is a big country with lots of natural beauty and friendly people – and, of course, even more sheep. The All Blacks are consistently the best rugby team in the world; they do a great haka. I have been to shul in both Auckland and Wellington.

There have been Jews in New Zealand from the early 1830s; some have been successful and prominent. Sir Julius Vogel, a practising Jew, was the eight Premier of New Zealand in the 1870s; there have been two other Jewish prime ministers, including the current one, John Key, whose mother was an Austrian Jew. In the 2013 census there were 7,000 Jews out of a population of 4.5 million.

South Head Synagogue has a special connection with New Zealand, especially Wellington. Rabbi Milecki’s predecessor was Rabbi Tobias Silberman, who served here 1971-1984. Rabbi Silberman was born in Poland, moved with his family to Antwerp where he was educated, and then moved again to Glasgow at the outbreak of World War II. He obtained his s’micha in Glasgow, served as a congregational rabbi in Scotland for 10 years before moving to Wellington where he was rabbi for 6 years. After a brief period back in the U.K., he was recruited to come to South Head. During his long tenure the new synagogue building was constructed (it was originally only the Braham Hall) and daily services were established. Rabbi Silberman retired to the Gold Coast, where he was visited regularly by many of his South Head congregants. (You can read more in Mark Braham’s The History of South Head Synagogue – there are spare copies in the office.) Read More

Tzemach, Roli & Yeruchem are heading home after a jam packed fun & fulfilling year (Tzemach 2 years) serving our community, creating and enhancing all of our youth activities and more.

Please join us this shabbat in bidding farewell to the boys (Yeruchem in his absence) at a special kiddush in their honour immediately following the Shule services on shabbat morning.

The menu includes a huge pot of delicious cholent made by our very own bocher, Roli

South Head Community would like to thank all the boys for their extraordinary efforts in creating so many exciting activities in which our youth participated over the last 2 years. By all accounts South Head Youth has benefited tremendously from all their efforts.

See you Shabbat morning at our special Kiddush

We look forward to seeing everyone at Shule!

Wishing you and your family Shabbat Shalom,
Tzemach & Roli

For all information on upcoming youth events please contact us on 9371 7300 ext 3 or 0412 482 770 or youth@southhead.org

"He went on to say that many people go to sleep at night and, when they wake up in the morning, they expect their shoes to be by their bed where they left them the night before. As they are getting dressed, they complain that the weather is too cold or too hot. In effect, they are criticizing G-d — because who makes the weather? Instead, they should be grateful that they are still alive, that their possessions are still with them, that a new day is beginning where they have an opportunity to do many good deeds. It was a lesson I never forgot.” Read More

Q. This week’s Shabbat is given a special name, Shabbat Chazzon, which means ‘the Shabbat of vision’. It refers to the Haftorah which speaks about the prophet Isiah’s warning to the Jewish people about impending destruction. The Haftorah opens with the words ‘A vision of Isiah’. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, a great Chassidic master, would say that on Shabbat Chazon every Jew receives a vision of the Third Beit Hamikdash. This is quite paradoxical! The Shabbat that precedes the saddest day of the year, Tisha B'Av, commemorating the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash, also heralds the ultimate redemption and rebuilding of the Third Beit Hamikdash. What can this mean? Read More