Parashat Bereishit
Rabbi’s Drosh
Firstly a HUGE MAZEL TOV to Rabbi and Rachel Tal in Wellington on the arrival of their baby daughter this week! May she bring much nachas to her parents, sisters, community and all Am Yisrael!
As we begin the cycle of reading the Torah again, I am always amazed that no matter how many times I read these familiar chapters of our history, there is always something new and always something relevant to today.
“The great Vilna Gaon summed this up with an acronym.
ב = בטחון
ר = רצון
א = אהבה
ש = שתיקה
י = יראה
ת = תורה”
The word Bereishit seems to mean “in the beginning“ but there is so much more to this first word of the Torah.
If we look to each of the letters which spell Bereishit, we can discover a guide for the values to live our lives by. The great Vilna Gaon summed this up with an acronym.
Bereishit stands for:
Bitachon - Trust in Hashem
Ratzon - Desire (to live according to Hashem’s will)
Ahava - Love
Shetika - Silence (controlling our words)
Yira - Reverence or awe
Torah - Living a life of Torah
This shabbat we are not able to hear Parashat Bereishit in Shul together, but we can still take inspiration from the power of this word Bereishit “in the beginning“ by looking to how we can strengthen each of these values.
The value of Ahava (Love) refers not just to loving Hashem, but to loving our fellow man. This is something we have been reflecting on a lot with our upcoming move. We are so grateful for all the love to have received from you all. Being a part of this wonderful community on a day-to-day basis is something we will miss greatly.
Please G-d we can get out of lockdown and be together again soon!
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Friedler
The Friedlers’ Highlights
Virtual Guests in the Sukkah
We spent the week of Sukkot dwelling in the Sukkah - including (weather permitting) our regular Zoom classes, some meetings and of course our FNL!
Thank you to all those who came to ‘visit‘ us virtually during these powerful days of Sukkot!
Global Sukkah Hop
This year we participated in the Commonwealth Jewish Council Global Sukkah Hop, bringing together Jewish communities from all over the Commonwealth to celebrate Sukkot together.
CLASS - To Everything TURN TURN TURN
Inspired by the teachings of the great Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l this class looked at the amazing connections between the festival of Sukkot and the book of Kohelet.
Friday Night Live
A very special Friday Night Live this week with some families joining us from their own Sukkahs! Special thank you to Alan Brown for his music and Mike Silverman for hosting us. If you have yet to join a FNL, it is a wonderful way to catch up and see some familiar faces during lockdown.