Golf Manor SynagogueShabboS bulletin

S.E.E.D.Synagogue Education Excellence DirectiveAn initiative of the Jewish Federation

of Cincinnati

Rabbi Yosef Alt rabbi 6442 Stover Avenue, Cincinnati OH 45237Rabbi Stuart Lavenda rabbi emeritus golfmanorsynagogue@gmail.com Rabbi Hanan Balk rabbi emeritus golfmanorsynagogue.orgYosef Kirschner chairman (513) 531-6654

Serving Cincinnati Jewry

since 1901

Keeping the Congregation ConnectedWomen’s group video chat—contact Mrs. Roodman: breadsnspreads613@gmail.com or 516-993-5654.

Phone a Friend: A number of congregants are very lonely in isolation, and they appreciate friendly phone calls. Please contact Mrs. Karen Lavenda, 531-2915, to participate in this mitzvah opportunity.

Shabbos Rosh Chodesh: Add “Ya’aleh v’Yyavo” in the Amidah of Ma’ariv, Shacharis, and Mincha; recite Hallel; and, in the Mussaf Amidah, say “Atta Yatzarta.”

Kiddush Levana (recite starting this Motzo’ei Shabbos, if the moon is visible): You may recite “Shalom Aleichem - Aleichem Shalom” three times with one person, assuming an-other household member is present.

SponsorshipsShabbos Bulletin is sponsored by Eli & Yehudis Polsky, in honor of Yisroel Nachum’s bar mitzvah.

Shul AnnouncementsShabbos Sounds—on Friday! Hear Rabbi Alt offer an Erev Shabbos message and Rabbi Spetner deliver the Chumash Class.

Yom Hazikaron and Yom ha’Atzma’ut are Monday evening through Wednesday, April 27–29. Please register to study Torah in honor of one of the soldiers who have given their lives, at Lekedoshim.com . Mizrachi is offering a worldwide program online, as we transition from Yom Hazikaron to Yom Ha’atzmaut, on Tuesday night, April 28; see the attached flyer for details.

Parenting During Quarantine: A special session with parenting ex-pert Yeshaya Leiber, LMSW, followed by Q & A—Wednesday, April 29, 8:15 pm, at the GMS virtual Beis Midrash (accessible from our home page, golfmanorsynagogue.org (Zoom ID 606-322-3694). Please pre-submit your questions to GolfManorEvents613@gmail.com . Sponsored by Bill and Mrs. Elinor Ziv, in memory of their son Edward, Refoel Eliezer Aharon ben Zev Shmuel, whose yahrzeit is today, 30 Nisan. (Additional sponsorship opportunities for this event are still available).

In the CommunityMazal tov to… • The extended Freedman and Lob families, on the chassuna this past week of Doni & Shira (Freedman) Lob.

• The Bidnick and Levy families, on the birth and subsequent b’ris of Refoel Yosef Levy.

• The extended Polsky family, on Yisroel Nachum’s bar mitzvah.

Tazri’a–Metzora Rosh Chodesh Iyar 5780 • Friday, April 21, 2020

Refuah Sh’laima

Bracha Leah bas Rochel Mushka

(Barbara Nagler)

Eitan Chaim ben Elisheva (Ethan Kadish)

Gavriel ben Pesha (Gary Walsh)

Chana Rivka bas Ethel (Juanita Weiss)

Nesanel ben Chaya Rochel

Tzvi Michoel ben Leah (Hirsch Wise)

Chaim Dovid Ephraim ben Chana

Daisy bas Lulu (Mrs. Daisy Kattan)

Z’ev Shmuel ben Malkah Rochel

Reuven ben Malkah

Simcha Leib haLevi ben Devorah

Gershon Avram ben Kayla Taiba

(Jeff Karas)

Esther Hitzel bas Gitel (Esther Deutch)

Yitzchok Meir ben Chaya Freidel

(Rabbi Lifshitz)

Shabbos Pirkei Avos chap. 2

Candle Lighting ........ earliest: 7:00 pm 20 min: 8:04 pm

Repeat Shema and count Sefira 1^ after 9:05 am

Last Shema (Gr”a) .................... 10:11 am

Earliest Mincha .......................... 2:10 pm

Sunset ...........................................8:26 pm

1& Shabbos ends (40 min.) .... 9:06 pm

Virtual Beis Midrash

Now on our home page!golfmanorsynagogue.org

Understanding G-d’s World New chapter: Jews and Non-Jews

Mondays ........................... 8–8:40 pm

Pasuk 2 P’sakMondays ........................... 9–9:45 pm

Hands-On HalachaTuesday .............................8:20-9 pm

Beginners’ TalmudTuesday ............................9–9:4o pm

Daf Yomi has its own link: https://us04web.zoom.us/j/3179258587

Sunday .................................... 7–8 am

Monday—Friday .............6–6:30 am

Shmuel Plotsker’s classes can be accessed by phone:

712-770-4945, access code 664943#

Intro to Midrash (Shir haShirim)Sundays ......................... 8:45–9:45 am

Hebrew Reading OFF till regular classes resume

Torat Eretz Yisrael Mondays ..... 1–2 pm

Tanach Tuesdays (M/W)I Kings 15 ..................7:30–8:30 pm

He Shall Dwell in IsolationAS WE APPRoACH THIS WEEK’S DouBLE Parsha of Tazria-Metzora, it’s impos-sible to escape the analogy to what we are currently experiencing, during the Coronavirus pandemic. The metzora is infected with a mysterious disease, and he is forced to self-quarantine; he is sent out of the camp of Israel, to dwell alone!

Rabbi Chaim Shmuelevitz has a pow-erful perspective on what makes this punishment so painful. He cites the Ge-mara:

The Baraisa taught: There are four who are considered as if they were dead—the pauper, the met-zora, the blind, and the childless. (Nedarim 64b)

What is so terrible about each of these four, that they are considered as if they were lacking life itself? Furthermore, why does the Gemara exclude the many other tragic circumstances (may Hashem spare us from them!) that people experience?

Rabbi Shmuelevitz begins with the metzora, and he proves that the discom-fort a tzara’as infection causes is not what the Talmud refers to; rather, it is the re-quirement that the metzora must dwell alone. We can understand that dwelling alone is difficult—it has been difficult for all of us—but why does the Talmud go so far as to say that it is comparable to death?

Rabbi Shmuelevitz points to the oth-er members of the list, and explains that this is not a list of four different condi-tions, each so terrible in its own right that it is tantamount to death; rather, it describes one condition! All four of the circumstances listed share one common deficit, in such a fundamental part of life that to be without it is to be missing life itself! All four take away the ability to give, to nurture, and to comfort another person.

The pauper lives a life without luxury, struggling to get by—but that is still liv-ing. What the pauper is most deprived of is the ability to give; he lacks the financial

resources to provide assistance to others. Living a life without children is pain-

ful and lonely, but what is missing most is the opportunity to nurture, to devote so much of oneself to another human be-ing, from diapers to college—a constant shower of love and giving.

The blind person is not able to see, but sight is only one of the senses. Rab-bi Shmuelevitz proves, from the Torah itself, that the sense of sight is our most powerful tool for connecting to others, for feeling their sorrow. The blind man is alone in the word, handicapped in his ability to see the look on someone’s face, to read someone’s body language and feel what that person is feeling.

The metzora is sent out of the camp, cut off from the rest of the people. But even more difficult than being alone, with nobody to offer a helping hand, is being put in a place where he is not able to offer a helping hand to others.

The most difficult part of the isolation we find ourselves in is not missing the friendly smiles of others and the listening ears of a friend, but, rather, the inability to offer our comforting smiles and listening ears to the many friends we usually come in contact with throughout our weeks.

I am reminded of the message I shared at that painful moment when I had to announce that our minyan would be dis-banded for an unknown period of time. I shared a comment that the Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation publicized in the name of Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky Shlit”a, may he be healthy and well. Reb Chaim cited the Gemara. After teaching that lashon hara (negative speech) causes tzara’as, it makes the following comment.

…What distinguishes the met-zora, that [of him] the Torah states, “He shall sit in isolation; his dwelling shall be outside of the camp?”

[The metzora] separated be-

tween husband and wife and be-tween man and his fellow. There-fore the Torah says, “He shall sit in isolation…” (Arachin 16b)

Reb Chaim suggested that if we will use our words to bring people togeth-er, instead of breaking them apart, then Hashem, in turn, will bring us back to-gether.

The Chiddushei haRi”m (the first Ger-rer Rebbe) once commented that the He-brew words nega, referring to a blemish of tzara’as, and oneg, meaning “delight,” are both spelled with the same three let-ters: nun, gimmel, and ayin. The difference between the two words is where you place the ayin (which in Hebrew means “eye”). A blemish can be transformed into delight, depending on how you look at it.

Hashem has placed us in isolation, making it harder for us to help and sup-port each other. But we haven’t been robbed of our ability to give. It may take extra ef-fort, but there is no shortage of ways to help. We can help others get groceries and needed supplies. We can contribute to local, national, and international funds that provide relief to the many victims of CoVID-19. We can reach out to friends and family who need a phone call. These take a little more time and effort than they did previously, and we are required to be more proactive. But, when we push ourselves to go the extra mile, the mes-sage of care and kindness comes through more strongly than before. May we use this time to guard our speech, and digital communications, from anything harm-ful, and go the extra mile to tell others that we care and we want to help.

May Hashem see our sincere desire to support each other with care and com-passion, and may He bring us back to-gether again.

Good Shabbos,Rabbi Yosef Alt

Parshas Tazri’a–Metzora 

V’Dibartah bam