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This Week at Chabad Lubavitch Leeds
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Shabbat ends
8:50pm
Torah Portion:
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Message from the Rabbi
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Among the tens of thousands of individuals that the Rebbe met and corresponded with daily were members of Israel’s defence and security cabinets. It wasn’t only the Rebbe’s understanding of politics that caused others to seek his advice; it was the depth of his care for the millions of Jews living in the Holy Land.
With everything going on in Israel, the Rebbe’s insights and words are a much-needed source of inspiration and hope, now more than ever. “How Israel Wins: The Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Vision for Achieving Lasting Peace” is a one-time multimedia event taking place this September. Details here.
Looking for something exciting after school? At CKids After School, we’re always finding fresh ways to make Jewish education exciting and meaningful. Your child will build friendships, gain new skills, and grow their Jewish identity - all while having a great time. Details here.
Wishing you a Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Eli Pink
Director of Education
Chabad Lubavitch Leeds
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Whenever the topic of peace between Israel and its neighbours comes up, Jerusalem is at the heart of the conflict. Muslims claim it as their holy city, while Jews assert that Jerusalem rightfully belongs to the Jewish people. One common argument used by Jewish people to refute the Muslim claim is that Jerusalem isn’t mentioned even once in the Quran,
while the Hebrew Bible references the city nearly 700 times. This, they argue, leaves no doubt that Jerusalem belongs to the Jews.
While this argument sounds compelling, it’s not entirely accurate. It’s true that in the Nevi’im and Ketuvim - Prophets and Writings - Jerusalem is mentioned hundreds of times, from its first mention in the Book of Joshua, to the very last verse of the Book of Chronicles. However, in the Five Books of Moses, our Torah, Jerusalem isn’t explicitly mentioned even once. There is a hint in
the Torah, where the verse “Melchizedek, King of Shalem” refers to Jerusalem. But the name Jerusalem itself doesn’t appear.
In this week’s Torah portion, Re’eh, we read that the only place where offerings can be brought is “the place that the L-rd will choose to put His name.” Rashi explains that this refers to Jerusalem, and the Torah repeats this phrase six times without ever naming the location explicitly.
It wasn’t until many centuries later, when King David arrived in Jerusalem, that it became clear that this was the chosen place. The Book of Chronicles states: “From the day I brought My people out of Egypt, I chose no city… but I chose Jerusalem.” This raises the question: why didn’t the Torah explicitly state that Jerusalem is “the place the Lord will choose”? Other cities in the Land
of Israel, like Be’er Sheba, Hebron, and Bethlehem, are mentioned by name in the Torah. Yet Jerusalem, the holiest city to the Jewish people, is not mentioned at all.
In truth, long before the Torah was written, Jerusalem was already known as the most sacred place to the Jewish people. It’s where Noah built his altar after the flood, where Abraham built the altar for the binding of Isaac, and where Jacob had his dream. All commentators agree that the Jewish people have known from the dawn of history that this was “the place the Lord will choose.” So why didn’t the Torah state this outright?
Maimonides offers a few reasons why Jerusalem isn’t explicitly mentioned in the Torah. One reason is that if the nations of the world had known it was the holiest place for the Jewish people, they might have fought to take it from them. Therefore, it was better to keep this fact hidden. This is something we have seen throughout history.
The Rebbe provides a deeper insight. The Rebbe explains that the reason Jerusalem isn’t explicitly named in the Torah is that, in truth, wherever a Jew goes and engages in Torah and mitzvot, that place becomes “the place that G-d will choose.”
At the same time, the Rebbe counselled a number of Israeli military and political figures that Jerusalem must remain the indivisible capital of the Jewish nation. To find out more about the Rebbe’s unique view on Israel, join our upcoming multimedia course How Israel Wins.
The Baal Shem Tov taught that a Jew must recognise that their journey from place to place isn’t just by chance - it’s divinely guided so that they can reveal G-dliness wherever they are. The Rebbe teaches that through Torah and mitzvot we transform the place where G-d has led us into a spiritual sanctuary, thus preparing for the time when G-d will bring us to “the place that G-d will choose”
- Jerusalem, the holy city, and the Third Temple, with Moshiach speedily in our days!
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How Israel Wins!
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Upcoming Events
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Service Times
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Friday Night 7:30pm
Shabbat Morning 10:00am
Sunday Morning 8:30am
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Kiddush
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This week's kiddush is kindly sponsored by
Ronnie Levy
to mark the yahrzeit of his brother.
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This Week @ www.JudaismLive.com
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Parshah in a Nutshell
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Parshat Re'eh
The name of the Parshah, "Re'eh," means "See," and it is found in Deuteronomy 11:26.
“See,” says
Moses to the
people of Israel, “I place before you today a blessing and a curse”—the blessing that will come when they fulfill G‑d’s
commandments, and the curse if they abandon them. These should be proclaimed on
Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal when the people cross over into the
Holy Land.
A
Temple should be established in "the place that
G‑d will choose to make dwell His name there,” where the people should bring their
sacrifices to Him; it is forbidden to make offerings to G‑d in any other place. It is permitted to
slaughter animals elsewhere, not as a sacrifice but to eat their
meat; the blood (which in the Temple is poured upon the altar), however, may not be eaten.
A
false prophet, or one who entices others to worship
idols, should be put to death; an idolatrous city must be destroyed. The identifying signs for
kosher
animals and fish, and the list of
non-kosher birds (first given in Leviticus 11), are repeated.
A tenth of all produce is to be eaten in
Jerusalem, or else exchanged for money with which food is purchased and eaten there. In certain years this
tithe is given to the poor instead. Firstborn cattle and sheep are to be offered in the Temple, and their meat eaten by the
kohanim (priests).
The
mitzvah of
charity obligates a Jew to
aid a needy fellow with a gift or loan. On the
Sabbatical year (occurring every seventh year), all loans are to be
forgiven. All indentured servants are to be set free after six years of service.
Our
Parshah concludes with the laws of the three pilgrimage festivals—
Passover,
Shavuot and
Sukkot—when all should go to “see and be seen” before G‑d in the
Holy Temple.
Learn:
Re'eh in Depth
Browse:
Re'eh Parshah Columnists
Prep:
Devar Torah Q&A for Re'eh
Read:
Haftarah in a Nutshell
Play:
Re'eh Parshah Quiz
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