Want to contribute to this web site?

We welcome any and all community members to contribute to and participate in our website.

The first step to participating in this web site is to get an account for the site. An account is used to identify each individual and allow them to add to our web site.

If you would like to participate, communicate, contribute to our site, please contact Gordon Holtslander gordon.holtslander@usask.ca

Friday Service Schedule

Beginning in Noveber 2008 we will hold two Friday evening
services each month at Agudas Israel.

The second Shabbat each month will be a 6:00 p.m. service
followed by a dairy / vegetarian pot-luck dinner.

Usually the fourth Shabbat each month will be a Traditional
service at 8:00 p.m., except December (the third Shabbat).

Here is the schedule for November 2008 through March 2009:

2nd Shabbat of each month at 6 p.m., Shared Shabbat dinner

4th Shabbat of most months at 8 p.m., Traditional service

Shabbat Evening starting times

These pages will contain the texts and melodies
of the basic Friday evening home prayers and
the Havdalah service of Saturday evening.

Shabbat Candle Lighting

Blessing of Children

Kiddush (over wine)

HaMotzi (over Challah)

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three Havdalah blessings

longer Havdalah blessing

Shabbat a.m. melodies

Shabbat a.m. melodies

These pages will contain the texts and melodies
of the basic Friday evening home prayers and
the Havdalah service of Saturday evening.

Shabbat Candle Lighting

Blessing of Children

Kiddush (over wine)

HaMotzi (over Challah)

----------

three Havdalah blessings

longer Havdalah blessing

 

TORAH SPARKS

PARASHAT HAYE SARAH
BIRKAT HAHODESH

November 22, 2008 – 24 Heshvan 5769 -

Annual: Genesis 23:1 --25:18 (Etz Hayim, p. 127; Hertz p. 80)
Triennial Cycle: Genesis 24:10 --24:52 (Etz Hayim, p. 132; Hertz p. 83)
Haftarah: I Kings 1:1 – 31 (Etz Hayim, p. 143; Hertz p. 90)

Prepared by Rabbi Joyce Newmark
Teaneck, New Jersey

TORAH PORTION SUMMARY

Sarah dies at the age of 127. Abraham approaches the Hittites about acquiring a
burial place and then bargains with Ephron and buys the cave of Machpelah and
the field surrounding it from him.

Abraham sends his senior servant (unnamed here but known as Eliezer based on
a verse in parshat Lekh Lekha) to his family in Aram-naharaim to find an
appropriate bride for Isaac. Eliezer arrives at his destination and asks God for a
sign – the woman who will become Isaac’s wife would be kind and generous
and would offer to draw water for Eliezer and his camels. Almost immediately
Rebekah arrives at the well and passes his test. Eliezer learns that she is the
granddaughter of Abraham’s brother Nahor and realizes that God has guided
him to the right woman. Eliezer is invited to Rebekah’s home, where he explains
the purpose of his journey to her brother Laban and father Bethuel. They agree
to allow Rebekah to go with Eliezer. Rebekah also agrees and accompanies
Eliezer to Canaan, where she becomes Isaac’s wife.

Abraham marries Keturah and fathers six more sons, although Isaac is his sole
heir. Abraham dies at the age of 175, and Isaac and Ishmael bury him alongside
Sarah in the cave of Machpelah. The parashah concludes with the genealogy of
Ishmael’s descendents.

1. MATCHMAKER, MATCHMAKER
 
Let the maiden to whom I say, “Please, lower your jar that I may drink” and
who replies, “Drink, and I will also water your camels” – let her be the one
whom You have decreed for Your servant Isaac. Thereby shall I know that You
have dealt graciously with my master. Bereisheit 24:14

A. She is worthy of him, for she will be kind and worthy of entering the house
of Abraham. Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, 1040-1105, France)
 
B. Eliezer was trying to find a woman who excelled in every area, whereas this
test only proved that she had a good heart. How, then, did Eliezer know that the
woman’s other qualities would also be superior? Rather, from this we can see
proof to the Mishnah in Avot (2:13) where, when different sages gave their
definitions of the proper path to follow, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai chose that of
Rabbi Elazar, “a good heart,” as including all the other definitions within his
own. Zilah Ron, cited in Itturei Torah, Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Greenberg
 
C. Eliezer wanted to put the maiden to the test to see not only whether she had
good qualities but also whether she would use her virtues with wisdom and
understanding.

Accordingly, he asked her to give him a drink of water from that pitcher with
which the water was drawn up from the well. What, he wondered, would she do
with the water that would be left in the pitcher after he had drunk from it? If she
were to take it home, she would not be acting wisely, for it should occur to her
that he might be ill and that it might be unsafe for others to drink the water that
had come in contact with his mouth. On the other hand, if she were to pour it
out, it would be an insult to the stranger and would show that she was lacking in
tact. The proper course for her to follow would be to say, “Drink, and I will also
water your camels.” In this manner, there would be no insult to the stranger, nor
would other people be exposed to danger by drinking water that might be
contaminated. If she chose that alternative, it would be proof that she had not
only good qualities but also sufficient intelligence to make the right decisions in
unforeseen situations. Rabbi Joseph Dov Halevi Soloveitchik of Brisk, 1820-1892,
Lithuania

D. Although our modern urban society hardly lends itself to the sort of test
Eliezer devised for Isaac’s future wife, his awareness of kindness as the supreme
virtue in a spouse remains most relevant. Unfortunately, many people, both then
and now, focus on other traits at a relationship’s outset. But, as Dennis Prager
suggests, “When you go out on a date, it is more important to see how your date
treats the waitress than how he (or she) treats you. Since it is important at the
relationship’s beginning for your date to make a good impression on you, he will
treat you well. But how he treats the waitress will reflect how he is going to treat
you once he can take your love for granted.”

Rebekah had no idea who Eliezer was. That is what makes her kindness to him
so striking. Obviously, there are many additional traits that matter in a spouse –
shared values, sexual attraction and compatibility, humor, and intelligence,
among others. But kindness, this biblical text teaches us, is in a class by itself.
Its presence alone does not guarantee that a relationship will work. Its absence,
however, should guarantee that it won’t. Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, “The Book of
Jewish Values,” p.26

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

What should a person look for in a spouse? What do you think of Eliezer’s
criteria? What about Dennis Prager’s advice? What other qualities draw a couple
together? What qualities are necessary to sustain a marriage for many years and
decades? Do you think most couples marry for the right reasons?

The Torah tells us not only that Rebekah passed Eliezer’s test, but also “The
maiden was very beautiful” (24:16). What if she had been plain or even ugly –
would she still have been an appropriate bride for Isaac? Do you believe our
society continues to value women primarily by their appearance? How can we
protect our daughters from the dangerous effects of this prejudice?

2. THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

Then I bowed low in homage to the Lord and blessed the Lord, the God of my
master Abraham, who led me on the right way [literally, the way of truth] to get
the daughter of my master’s brother for his son. Bereisheit 24:48

A. As a rule, a marriage broker will use a little falsehood and exaggeration,
without which it is not possible to make a match that will work out. And so,
Eliezer gave thanks to “the one who led me in the way of truth,” that in
brokering this marriage he was able to walk in the way of truth, without having
to resort to any falsehood.

Rabbi Hanina stated: “God’s seal is truth” (Shabbat 55a). Rabbi Avraham
Yitzhak Kook explained this as a wax stamp imprinted on the sealed envelope of
a letter. When the stamp is broken, it no longer has any value. The letter is open
to all. Such is the measure of truth. There is no such thing as a half truth, or a
quarter truth. The truth must be whole, like the seal itself. He added: Just as our
sages said “God’s seal is truth,” so is the seal of every person who was created
in the image of God. People’s inner truth is the basis of their character and it is
the seal of their lives. Simcha Raz, “The Torah’s Seventy Faces: Commentaries
on the Weekly Sidrah,” edited by Rabbi Dov Peretz Elkins, pp. 33-34

B. Our rabbis taught: How does one dance before a bride? The school of
Shammai says, “The bride [is described] as she is.” The school of Hillel says,
“[Every bride is described as a] beautiful and graceful bride.” The school of
Shammai said to the school of Hillel, “If she was lame or blind, does one say of
her, ‘Beautiful and graceful bride’? Does not the Torah command, ‘Keep far
from a false matter’?” (Shemot 23:7) But the School of Hillel answered the
School of Shammai, “According to your words, if a person has made a bad
purchase in the market, should one praise it to him or deprecate it? Surely one
should praise it to him.” Therefore the rabbis teach, “Always should one’s
disposition be pleasant with people.” Ketubot 16b-17a
 
C. Teach your tongue to say, “I do not know,” lest you be led to lie and be
caught. Berakhot 4a

SPARKS FOR DISCUSSION

Must we always tell the absolute truth? According to the school of Hillel, whose
opinion prevails, when are we permitted to lie? Are there other circumstances
when lying is permitted? (Hint: what do you say when an abusive ex-husband
asks you for his former wife’s new address?) Is there more than one possible
answer to the question, “Do these pants make me look fat?”

Weekly Torah Portion

Hazzan Neil Schwartz

Mailing Address:

Congregation Agudas Israel
715 McKinnon Avenue
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
CANADA S7H 2G2

E-mail: cantor.neil@sasktel.net

Phone: (306) 343-7023 ext. 3

Fax: (306) 343-1244

Home Address:

322 4th Street East
Saskatoon, SK
Canada S7H 1J3

Hazzan Schwartz was born and raised in the small town of Hibbing in Northern Minnesota
near the Canadian border.

1975 he earned a B.A. in Religion with and concentration in Judaica from Carleton College
in Northfield, Minnesota.

1980 he earned the Diploma of Hazzan from the Cantorial School of the Jewish Theological
Seminary in New York.

He has served synagogues in Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee before coming
to Saskatoon in 2007.

He also has taken five units of Chaplaincy training (Clinical Pastoral Education) in Pennsylvania
and Wisconsin.

under construction

under construction

The forums are a place for discussions. There are ten broad forum areas, B'nai B'rith Lodge, BBYO, Community, Hadassah, Hebrew School, Jewish Students Association, Sisterhood, Web Site, Local and National. Within each of there areas members are free to discuss issues. The forum area of our web site is restricted to community members. It is necessary to have an account on our web site to view and participate in the forums. If you wish to have an account on our web site see the create an account page. To access the forums page click on the forums itim in the main menu.

Its necessary to have an account on this site to create any content. An account allows the system to identify who is accessing it and controls what this account holder can do. Only members of our community are given accounts. This allows members of our community to create a variety of content. It also prevents people from outside of the community from adding to or changing our web site.

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Creating a new account involves a number of steps.

 

At the bottom left corner of the main page there is a "User Login" section. In this section there is an item labeled "Create New Account". Click on this item.

 

An "Event with Volunteer Time Slots" creates an event that appears on our calender with the features that allow other community members to volunteer for "timeslots" within this event, Its necessary for the volunteers to have accounts on our system. It is not possible to volunteer for an event unless one has an account on our system. The system will create an event page where community members can signup for timeslots.

To create an "Event with Volunteer Time Slots" select the "create content" item on the main menu. The system will present the "Event with Volunteer Time Slots" configuration window.

In the title blank enter an appropriate title. The title will identify this event listing throughout the site.

The start and end times are set in the "Start time" and "End time" inputs. The date, month, year , hour and minute for both the start and end time must be entered. The current date and time will be entered by default.

The "setup timeslots" section allow one to define the event organizer, and set up the number and duration of volunteer timeslots for an event. One or more community members can be defined as event organizers. These people must have accounts on our system. Their account usernames can be entered in the event organizer blank. The site will generate an error message if it does not recognize the name as a valid username on our system, Please be sure you know the username of the event organizer.

Select the duration of each time slot. The durations can be as short as 15 minutes. It isn't possible to create timeslots with different durations.

Select the number of volunteer needed for each time slot. One or more volunteers can be designated a certain time. Its possible to provide details about each volunteer after they have volunteered.

In the "Volunteer Event Description" section one can enter any text. Details about the event should be entered here.

It is possible to subscribe to a "volunteer event". Other community members are able to submit comments on an event. Subscribing to an event will have the system send you an email whenever someone submits a comment to an event.

When you are satsified with the information on the event page, select the submit button to have the event added to our site.

The system will create an event with volunteer page that looks similar to the image below

This event has a total duration of three hours. Three one hour volunteer time slots were set up, with each one have three time slots. A community member simply needs to click the checkbox on the timeslot they wish to fill and press the submit button at the bottom of the page. They can request to have the details of the event mailed to as well. They must select the "send me a copy of this event's information" checkbox. The system will send them an email with the details of what event and timeslot they have volunteered for. Their name will appear in the "Volunteer" column. If no one has volunteered for a time slot, the system will display Volunteer needed.

Its necessary to have an account on our system to create a story. Please log into the site using your username and password, before creating a story. If you have not logged in, the system will ask to logon when you begin to create a story. For instructions on creating an account see How to create an account. A story is a small article. Stories are placed in the "News & Notes from Community" section of our site. The ten most recently submitted stories are listed on the home page, on the right side under the title "Last 10". There are a number of categories that a story can be placed in. All the stories appear in the News & Notes from Community section. Its possible to select a single category and just view the stories submitted under one category. It is possible for other member to submit comments to a story. This can be done to add more information to that topic by another community member. The web site can email a story author each time someone comments on their story. The email will be sent to the email address given with one account. This is called "subscribing to a story". It is possible to subscribe to a story you have submitted, - details below.

Click on "create content" in the main menu.

The site will present a list of items you can create. Select story

The site will present you with a the "story page". Enter a suitable title in the title blank. The title is used to label the story.

If you like, select a category for your story. If a category is selected your story will appear with other stories in the same category.

How to make contributions to our site.

• How to create an account
• How to create an event
• How to create an event with volunteer signup
• How to create a story in "News&Notes from Community"
• How to participate in a forum
• How to create and run a blog
• How to submit a recipe

How to create an event.

An "event" contribution creates a small web page listing the start and end times of an event and the details of the event. Other community members are able to leave comments on the event. It creates an entry on the calendar (with the title of the event). A listing of the next six upcoming events is on the main page. Each event will appear in this listing when it is amongst the next six upcoming events.

Click on the create content link in the main menu.

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It will open this dialog. Select "event".

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It will open a new page. Select the Start and End date of the event by entering the appropriate day, month, year and time. It displays the current date and time by default.

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Enter a title in the title blank.

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Enter the details of the event in the body blank. It is possible to format the text after it has been input using the formatting buttons at the top of the body blank.

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If you wish to be notified if anyone submits a comment to your event check the subscribe checkbox. If you subscribe to an event, the website will send you an email when someone posts a comment on your event.

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When you have finished you can check to see what your posting will look like by pressing the preview button. This presents a preview of the page, but IT DOES NOT SAVE IT. When you are happy with the way your submission looks press the submit button. Your event will be added to the calendar, and will appear on the main page.

Our new web is set up to allow community members to be active participants. Its necessary to have an account on our new site to become an active participant. The rest is easy.

An account is necessary to create stories, events, add photos, blogs, and to use the online event volunteer management sytem. If you would like to participate please request an account by contacting Gordon Holtslander at gordon.holtslander@usask.ca.

Only members of our community will be given accounts. An account provides one with a username and a password. These are used to "log-in" to our site. At the bottom left of the site there is a user login section.

To submit a recipe click here

The Bulletin is the official publication of Congregation Agudas Israel. It is published six times a year. Its mandate is to provide information about activities in the community and publish articles of Jewish interest. Articles or community news may be submitted to The Editor-in-Chief, Steven Goluboff at e-mail address: s.goluboff@shaw.ca Please select an attachment below to view the Bulletin.

Rabbi Roger V.Pavey

 

Rabbi Pavey was born and brought up in England, son of an Ashkenazi mother and a Sefardi father.

Educated at the University of London(BA, BD Honors), yeshivah and Leo Baeck College. Semikhah (ordination as Rabbi), Leo Baeck College, London, l967.

Served Synagogues in London and Southend on Sea, Essex. Came to Canada,1980, and was Rabbi in Saint John, NB, and Sarnia and Kitchner-Waterloo, ON. Came to Saskatoon as Rabbi of Congregation Agudas Israel, 1988-98.

New Friday Evening Service Schedule:

Nov. 14 @ 6:00 p.m. = Shared Shabbat dinner

Nov. 28 @ 9:30 a.m. = Traditional service, Oneg

Dec. 12 @ 6:00 p.m. = Shared Shabbat dinner

Dec. 19 @ 8:00 p.m. = Traditional service, Oneg

Jan. 9 @ 6:00 p.m. = Shared Shabbat dinner

Jan. 23 @ 8:00 p.m. = Traditional service, Oneg

Feb. 13 @ 6:00 p.m. = Shared Shabbat dinner

Feb. 27 @ 8:00 p.m. = Traditional service, Oneg

Mar. 13 @ 6:00 p.m. = Shared Shabbat dinner

Mar. 27 @ 8:00 p.m. = Traditional service, Oneg

Welcome to our extensive website. Be an active participant in our site. Click here for information.

Welcome to our community! We are a small yet active Jewish congregation, affiliated with the United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism. We are in the beautiful western Canadian city of Saskatoon. Browse our pages to discover all that Jewish life on the prairies has to offer!

This site is hosted by the United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism.

Please feel free to write, telephone, e-mail or even drop in to the synagogue office during
regular office hours. We're looking forward to hearing from you!

Office Hours: Monday to Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon and 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.;
Fridays 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon.

Mailing Address:
Congregation Agudas Israel
715 McKinnon Avenue
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
CANADA
S7H 2G2

Phone:
General Information: (306) 343-7023
ext.1 Myla Deptuch (administrator)
ext.2 Marsha Scharfstein (Hebrew School Principal)
ext.3 Hazzan Neil Schwartz
ext.4 Shlichim Office: (Shirly & Nim)
ext.5 Gift Shop
ext.6 Kitchen