YOUNG ISRAEL OF MERRICK

NEWSLETTER

AUGUST 17, 2000

Things seem kind of quiet during the dog days of summer. People are away on family vacations, kids will be finishing up camp this week (the Valium is in the downstairs cabinet, on the left hand side), and believe it or not, school starts in about 2 weeks (alright, maybe you don’t need the Valium then). But things are still quiet in Merrick, so here are a few announcements and reminders.

YIM WEBSITE AND CALENDAR:

The Young Israel of Merrick website is now up and running at www.yimerrick.org

It is still "under construction", but already has the news headlines, shul calendar, newsletter and various links. There are pages set up that have not yet been written. If you are the Rabbi, President, Chairman of Youth Committee, Sisterhood, Education Committee etc. please e-mail your contribution to jeffrey@jeffreymaynard.com.

We are also now registered with the National Council of Young Israel and if you go on the NCYI website there is now a link to our website.

BIKUR CHOLIM

WE are in the process of putting together a World Wide Bikur Cholim List Please E-mail your Information LOOK US UP AT http://newhouserealty.com./bikurcholimaroundtheworld

SISTERHOOD:

1)Monday night August 21 at 8 p.m. we will have a Ladies Night . We will go out for dinner at Dougies BBQ on Main Street in Queens. The cost is $25 for members and $30 for non-members.
Please RSVP to Debby Hamburg at 546-1410 or e-mail her at huricanedj@aol.com.

2) The Hat Show and Holiday Boutique will take place on Wednesday, September 13 at the shul. Details to follow.

3) Rebbetzin Jeryl Volk will conduct a book review and discussion on "The Red Tent" by Anita Diamante. It will take place on Monday, September 25 at the shul. Refreshments to follow discussion. The cost is free for Sisterhood members and $3 for non-members.

SHABBAT SCHEDULE:

Erev Shabbat, Friday, August 18:

Mincha: 7:15 p.m.

Candlelighting: 7:15 p.m – 7:30 p.m.

Shabbat, August 19, 2000:

Shacharit: 9:00 a.m.

Kiddush: sponsored by the shul

Women’s class: 5:50 p.m.

Rabbi’s Shiur: 6:55 p.m.

Mincha: 7:25 p.m.

Seudat Shlishit: this week is sponsored by David and Robin Ritholtz. Last week’s seudat shlishit was sponsored by Stacey and Howard Nathanson.

Shabbat ends : 8:36 p.m.

Two Weeks in Jewish History - Jeffrey Maynard

16 Av - Yahrzeit of Sir Moses Montefiore We remember Sir Moses, who died in 1885. Born in Leghorn (Italy) in 1784, he became the famous philanthropist and public worker. Remeber for his seven visits to the Land of Israel and his assistance to his fellow Jews. Travelled to Egypt and Constantinople in 1840 on behalf of the Jews of Damascus who were wrongly accused of ritual murder. Received a knighthood and a baronetcy from Queen Victoria. A rigid opponent of reform in Judaism.

21 Av - Yahrzeit of Israel Zangwill. We remember the famous novelist, who died in 1926. Author of Children of the Ghetto, Dreamers of the Ghetto, Ghetto Tragedies, The King of Schnorrers, etc. Herzl interested him in Zionism, to which he devoted much time.

29 Av - Yahrzeit of Rashi. We remember Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, who died in Troyes in 1105 CE. His commentary on the Talmud has never been superseded or rivalled. His commentary on the Chumash is different to that on the Talmud - it is based on the Midrashim, and selects Midrashim which fit the meaning of the text. Many families claim descent from Rashi, although this is impossible to prove using written records.

19 August - Rabbi Yom Tov Lipman Heller, known as the Tosephos Yom Tov, my nine-greats grandfather died in 1654 in Cracow.

19 August - Baron Edmond de Rothschild born in 1845. Here is the man who rescued the Jewish agricultural settlements in Palestine in 1882 from financial collapse. Supporter of settlements, investor in industries. The town of Binyamina is named after him (his Hebrew name was Benjamin).

19 August - Bernard M. Baruch born in 1870. This South Carolinan was an economist and advisor to government. Chairman of war Industries Board during World War I and economic advisor to President Fraklin Roosevelt.

20 August -Captain Alfred Dreyfus pardoned and liberated in 1899. Dreyfus was a member of the general staff of the French Army. He was falsely accused and convicted of selling secrets to the Germans in 1894, and was freed in 1895 after the novellist Emile Zola took up his cause. He was not exonerated until 1906.

20 August - Rabbi Isaac Reines died in 1915. He was principal of the Volozhin Yeshiva and then of the Lida Yeshivah. Founder of Mizrachi in 1901, and therefore a pioneer of religious Zionism.

25 August - 100th anniversary of the birth of Professor Sir Hans Adolph Krebs, Nobel Prize winner for medicine

26th August - 200th anniversary of the death of British Chief Rabbi Hirschel Levin. He was known as Hart Lyon and was a great nephew of the Chochom Tzvi. Appointed rabbi in London in 1756, he resigned in 1763. he later became Chief Rabbi of Berlin.

One last thing: I don’t know how many of you know this, but I teach Hebrew language, with a strong emphasis on Hebrew grammar. My students complain about how the difficulty of Hebrew and how easy English is. I explain that in actuality, Hebrew is a very logical language and it is English that is an impossible language to learn. With the start of school just around the corner, I received this message recently and I wanted to share it with you:

Reasons Why The English Language Is Hard To Learn:
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Wishing everyone a Shabbat Shalom and a Shavua Tov

YIM News

Edited by: R. Maynard