D’var Torah with Rabbi Wein This week’s Torah reading contains both narrative history and dogmatic Jewish halacha. It relates to us the tragic story of the deaths of the two older sons of Aharon, when they apparently willfully mishandled the obligatory incense offering in the Mishkan/Tabernacle. The Torah reading also details for us the list of animals, birds and fish that may be consumed by Jews in accordance with the laws of dietary kashrut.

At first glance, there seems to be no connection between these two disparate subjects. Yet, we are certainly aware that Torah has to be understood and studied on many different levels and that the Torah is not subject to a completely haphazard arrangement of its prose and content. So, at some deeper, below the surface level, there may be a connection between these two matters that find themselves lumped together in one section of the Torah.

Without stretching our curiosity too far, I think that such a connection can be made regarding the death of the two sons of Aharon and the laws of kashrut, to justify their proximity in this week’s Torah reading. And that connection is that obeying or disobeying God’s instructions in matters of Jewish ritual holiness carries unforeseen consequences.

Just as is the case in the physical world, touching a live electric wire no matter how noble one’s intentions may be for so doing will produce injury and even death, so too in the spiritual world of holiness and sanctification, there are lethal consequences to behavior that deviates from the express statements of the Torah. And all of Jewish history bears out the truth of this simple statement.

The Talmud states that consuming non­kosher food stops up the hearts of otherwise good Jews. Non­kosher food apparently is a spiritual form of bad cholesterol. It hardens one’s heart and makes one less charitable or forgiving. This is a consequence of disobeying God’s commandment to Israel to be a holy nation, separate from all others.

Just as there were terrible consequences for the sons of Aharon for substituting (Continued on page 4)

Welcome to the DAT Minyan! Shabbat Shemini

April 22, 2017 - 26 Nisan, 5777 Joseph Friedman, Rabbi | David Fishman, President

Candle Lighting

Havdalah

7:25pm 8:27pm

Shabbat Schedule Please help make our prayer service more meaningful

by refraining from talking during the service.

FRIDAY 6:05 pm: Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat/Maariv (Shema should be recited after 8:26 pm)

SHABBAT Parasha: Page 588 / Haftarah: Page 1168

Kiddush this week sponsored by the shul.

7:15 am: Hashkama Minyan (new start time, new location-MPR)

8:30 am: Tefilla Warm-up with Ellyn Hutt (new location—Room 112)

9:00 am: Shacharit

5:10 pm: SHAWL (for women only) with guest presenter Ellyn Hutt on the topic: “Nissan Can Blossom All Year Round”

6:00 pm: HS Boys Gemara w/ Dr. Nathan Rabinovitch at the Rabinovitch home

6:15 pm: Shabbat Afternoon Study with Rabbi Friedman, discussing Pirkei Avot, Chapter 1

7:15 pm: Mincha

Seudah Shlisheet this week sponsored by the shul.

8:27 pm: Maariv / Havdalah

—————————————————————

Weekday Schedule

SHACHARIT

Sunday: 8:00 am

Monday—Tuesday: 6:35 am

Wednesday—Thursday: 6:25 am (Rosh Chodesh Iyar Friday: 6:35 am

MINCHA/MAARIV

Sunday-Thursday: 7:30 pm

Friday: 6:10pm

DAT Minyan is a dynamic and friendly Modern Orthodox synagogue for all ages and dedicated to meaningful personal spiritual development, community growth, youth involvement, Torah education, and Religious Zionism.

DAT Minyan - 6825 E. Alameda Ave. Denver, CO 80224 - 720-941-0479 - www.datminyan.org

Learning Opportunities @ the DAT Minyan

• Kitzur Shulchan Aruch: Daily, after Shacharit

• Mishna Berurah: Daily, between Mincha and Maariv

• Nefesh HaChaim: Sat & Sun, after Maariv

• Women’s Parsha Class: on hiatus until after Pesach

• Wed Evening Class: on hiatus until after Pesach

DAT MINYAN NEWS, EVENTS AND LEARNING

Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during the service.

This month’s Golden Tassel Club is sponsored by Brian Perry and Amy Benjamin in memory of Amy’s father, Dr. Steven Benjamin, Shmuel Nachum ben Yitzchak.

Our thanks to Dr. Fred and Pia Hirsch and Robert and Gillian Hyde for their generous donations of new siddurim to the DAT Minyan. With the addition of these siddurim, we have been able to remove books that were missing pages or were in other states of disrepair. Our goal over the next months is to continue to add new siddurim to add to our somewhat limited supply of them. Donations of siddurim are always a great way to honor someone or mark a special occasion. If you would like to arrange for purchase of new siddurim for the shul, please contact the shul office at 720-941-0479, or visit our website, https://www.datminyan.org/form/siddur.

Thank-you to all of those who contribute to our Shabbat services by signing up to help with our weekly laining. We remain in need of continued help with this and all able-lainers are encouraged to please volunteer! In addition, with a goal of expanding our roster of Haftarah readers, we have now opened up the weekly Haftarah portions for sign-up as well. The sign-up website is www.datminyan.org/laining. Please contact Steve Hutt for questions and additional information.

Our Adult Education Program has shifted its emphasis for the next several weeks to provide many learning opportunities in conjunction with Shavuot and our other special spring days of remembrance and celebration. Please see the attached flyer for complete details.

Save-the-Date of Monday, May 1st for our first Yom HaZikaron/Yom HaAtzmaut Ceremony, and Tuesday, May 2nd for our Annual Yom Ha’atzmaut Barbecue.

The DAT Minyan and the Denver Academy of Torah are proud sponsors of this year’s Jewish Colorado Walk for Israel and the JCC Denver’s Celebrate Family Festival on Sunday, May 7th from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm at South High School. Please visit the Jewish Colorado website, http://www.israelcelebratefest.org/ for free registration. We are also looking for volunteers who can help staff our DAT information table at this event. Please contact Rob Allen in the shul office if you can assist.

Looking for a way to make your donation to the shul really go the distance? We can use your Frequent Flyer miles to fly in our Scholars in Residence, saving the shul a great deal of money! Please contact the synagogue office to make a mileage donation.

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS This year’s Holocaust Survivors Memorial, “Passing the Torch,” takes place Sunday, April 23rd at 4:00 pm at the JCC/

Elaine Wolf Theatre. The program honors Colorado Survivors, and representatives of second and third generations who will share their experiences in story and song. We are proud to have our own Dr. Noah Makovksy as the Chair of this year’s memorial service, as well as Rabbi Michael Sunshine who is the keynote speaker.

If you (or someone you know) are looking to improve your Hebrew skills, join Hebrew Nights at The Jewish Experience. The new 6-week series starts after Pesach and runs Mondays evenings from 7:00-8:15 PM, April 24-May 29. Three tracks are offered: Hebrew Reading for Beginners, Hebrew Reading Comprehension, and Conversational Hebrew – Ulpan. Register now at TheJE.com/Hebrew or call 303-316-6412.

ADL’s 36th Annual Governor’s Holocaust Remembrance Program will be held on Tuesday, April 25 at 6 pm at Temple Emanuel. The keynote speaker is Dr. Hana Berger Moran, a pharmacologist who, along with her mother, survived the Shoah as an infant. Hana is a subject of the book “Born Survivors” by Wendy Holden. The program will include a memorial service, and the winners of ADL’s A Tribute to Moral Courage student essay contest will also be recognized. Free tickets: https://2017ghrp.eventbrite.com. Information: 303-830-7177.

The Berman family extends an invitation to the community to join them in a dessert reception on Thursday, April 27th, from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm at Aish Denver, in honor of the marriage of their daughter Aliza to Tuvia Harbater. The wedding takes place in New York this Sunday.

The AIPAC Colorado Annual Event takes place Sunday, April 30th, at the Seawell Grand Ballroom at 11:30 am. Join us for lunch and a presentation by Ambassador Ron Prosor, former Israeli Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Yasher Koach to our own Jonathan and Lisa Perlmutter for chairing this event. Please register on line at https://aipac.secure.force.com/event/EV156331.

The Participants of the “Kinyan Masechta Shiur” of Merkaz, cordially invite the community to attend our Siyum upon completing Masechtas Sukkah. The Siyum will take place at 5:15 pm, Sunday, April 30th at The JE Center, 399 S. Monaco. We will be joined by R’ Sheftel Neuberger, Menahel of Yeshivas Ner Yisroel Baltimore, MD.

Avivah Zornberg will be speaking at 7:00 pm on Sunday April 30th at Rodef Shalom Congregation. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Krav Maga classes - back by popular demand! Empower yourself with professionally trained Krav Maga instructors. Separate classes for men and women ages 13+. The separate classes will be held simultaneously at Bais Menachem on April 23rd, 30th, May 7th, 21st, 28th and June 4th from 4-5pm. $65 for all six classes. Must reserve and prepay by April 20th. For more information and to reserve, please email chanafeige@gmail.com or call 720-838-4093.

DAT MINYAN MEMBER MILESTONES

Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during the service.

Rachel Brown, Danya Caplan, Naftali Caplan, Eliora Dobro, James Harris, Hannah Katz, Moshe Khalehpari, Naama Mezer, Lillie Shafran, Yehuda Treister

Sally Dworkin — Tue., 4/25/17 (29 Nisan) Frieda Makovsky Englard — Sat., 4/29/17 (3 Iyar) Leonard Somers — Sat., 4/29/17 (3 Iyar)

The DAT Minyan wishes to acknowledge the following milestones* of our members in the coming week:

*These details were obtained from the DAT Minyan database, which contains information provided by the members when they joined. We apologize for any omissions or mistakes. For corrections or additions, please log on to your account and provide the information, or contact

the synagogue office at 720-941-0479.

Refuah Shelayma Please include the following names in your prayers. May each be granted a Refuah Shelayma. Names are kept on the list until the next Rosh Chodesh. Help us keep the list accurate by verifying the necessary details each month on the Cholim Document

at https://goo.gl/aeyJG2.

Ariella Bracha bat Sarah

Ariella Leah bas Yael Meira

Avraham Ben Mirel

Avraham Shalom ben Henna

Baruch Getzel haCohen ben Esther

Batya Ettel bat Malka Baila

Carmel ben Tirtza

Chaim Shlomo ben Malka

Chaim Shmuel ben Miriam

Chaim Tuvia ben Dina

Chaya Chanah Elisheva Rivka bat Sarah

Chaya Miriam bat Shoshana

Chaya Ora bat Sarah

Chaya Sarah bat Cyril

David ben Leah

David ben Sarah

Devorah Leah bat Chanah

Dinah bat Chayala

Dovid ben Ita Sheva

Dovid ben Laya

Eliyahu Chaim haCohen ben Sara Rifka

Ephraim ben Henna

Gitel Sarah bat Ita Golda

Golda bat Hadassa

Guy Chaim ben Rita

Hadassh Bat Fruma Rahel

Ida bat Esa

Ita Sheiva bas Udyah

Kalia bat Miriam

Laizer ben Yaffa

Leah Devora Kivitiya bat Chaya

Leya bat Sara

Malka bat Sarah

Menachem Yitzchak ben Yisraela

Miriam Tova Chaya bat Chanah

Moshe Feivel ben Rose

Naftali Yisroel ben Yisraela

Nechama bat Chaya

Noa Shani bat Chaya Bracha

Raphael Yotam ben Efrat

Rina bat Leah

Sara Chana bat Shaina

Sara Rifka bat Leah

Sarah Shoshanna bat Sarah

Shaina Meryl bat Rivka

Shashi bat Batya Baila

Shira Chana bat Sara

Shirley Hasia bat Devorah

Shoshanna bat Smadar

Shoshanna Miriam bat Chanah

Tirtza bat Sarah

Tirtza Chana bat Malka

Tomas ben Galit

Tzvi Gershon ben Shaindel Shaina Raizel

Tzipora Rut bat Cissie

Yakar Betzalel ben Brindle

Yehudit bat Leah

Yehudit bat Sara

Yehudit Leah bat Sarah

Yitzhak ben Gietel

Yona Malka bat Pola

Yonatan Zeev ben Neta

Yosef ben Malka

Zev ben Yehudis

This Day In Jewish History - Apr 22 / 26 Nisan 1245 BCE—Joshua (Yehoshua bin Nun) dies at the age of 110, in his 28th year of leadership of the Jewish people. Joshua,

who assumed leadership of Bnei Yisroel after the passing of Moshe Rabbeinu, was known for many great accomplishments, including the battle against Amalek, the conquest of Jericho and as one of the 12 spies sent by Moshe to explore the land of Canaan. He is buried in Timnat Serach in Har Ephraim.

1881—A petition, signed by 250,00 Germans, is presented to the government requesting the barring of foreign Jews from admission into Germany, marking the beginning of modern-day German anti-Semitism.

1943—130,000 Jews of Amsterdam are deported to Sobibor and Auschwitz. The deportation continued until 30 AV of that year.

1955—Nobel Prize winning physicist Albert Einstein dies in Princeton, NJ. Best known for authoring the Theory of Relativity, Einstein was born in Germany in 1879. His family eventually moved to Italy and Switzerland, where he earned his degree as a doctor, ultimately becoming a U.S. citizen in 1940. After WWII, Einstein became a leading figure in the World Government Movement, and was offered the Presidency of the State of Israel, which he ultimately declined. He was a collaborator with Dr. Chaim Weizmann in establishing the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Please help make our prayer service more meaningful by refraining from talking during the service.

YOUTH ANNOUNCEMENTS

their judgment over God’s commandment, so too is this the case in all other matters of Torah law as well. There are really no rationally accurate reasons that can be advanced for the dietary laws of the Jews. It is all involved in a purely unseen spiritual realm. But that does not in any way minimize the real effects and consequences that observance or non­observance of these laws carry with them.

All of Jewish history testifies to the corollary effects of kashrut observance on all facets of Jewish life and survival. Essentially put, the Torah tells us that the Jewish people are what they eat. Medical science has proven this to be true physically. The Torah comes to add to this the spiritual element, which is certainly no less important and vital for Jewish life to survive and prosper.

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein

Rabbi Wein (Continued from page 1)

Tuesday, April 25, 8:30 pm—9:45 pm: Beit Midrash Night at EDOS

Wednesday, April 26, 7:00 pm—8:00 pm: Belleview Latte N’ Learning, 4920 S. Yosemite St., Greenwood Village

Saturday, April 29, 9:30 am: NCSY and DAT Teens Shabbat Minyan Event and Kiddush

Saturday, April 29: Melava Malka

Sunday, April 30, 7:00 pm—8:00 pm: Leetsdale Latte N’ Learning, 5835 Leetsdale Dr., Denver

MEET THE ADVISORS… TOVA NARROWE

Hi!

I'm Tova Narrowe

and I'm a senior at

DAT High School.

I'm an advisor for

the two and three year olds'

group and have been working for

about five years.

Prizes

For all 4th—6th graders, and all 3rd graders who are interested.

Jr. Congregation TODAY at 9:30 am!

Save-the-Date

Be sure to join us Shabbat, May 6th, for our Advisor Appreciation Kiddush. If there is a particular

Advisor you would like to honor, your sponsorship of this kiddush would be greatly appreciated. You

can donate on line at www.datminyan.org/form/youth-advisor-appreciation-kiddush-2017.html

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS ARE HISTORY

Part VI: Life in Exile

May 3: Rise of Christianity

May 10: Rise of Islam

May 17: Rishonim

May 24: Crusades and Expulsions

DAT Minyan

Adult Education Program

Spring 5777/2017

SHAWL

Shabbat Afternoon Women’s

Learning (SHAWL) is back!

Programs take place 2 hours

before Mincha. Sponsorship

opportunities are now available.

For information or to be

included in weekly email

notifications, contact Jayne

Brandt (thebrandts@cntgroup.com)

IN DEPTH HALACHA SHIUR (SUNDAYS/HOLIDAYS FOLLOWING SHACHARIT

Apr 30: The Bonfires in Tzfat: Are They Allowed?

NO SHIUR on May 28

May 29 (Memorial Day – Monday): Killing Innocent

Civilians During War

NO SHIUR on Jul 2

Jul 4 (Tue): Six or Ten for Chazarat HaShatz?

Jul 30: The Takana of “Zecher L’Churban”

Aug 27: Saying Yizkor During the First Year

WHAT’S BOTHERING RASHI?

Join Rabbi Friedman Tuesday mornings for a women’s-only

parsha class focusing on the insights of Rashi. Classes are

at 10am—rotating locations. Starting again in May!

STAY TUNED FOR

SHAVUOT

LEARNING

SCHEDULES!

SHABBAT AFTERNOONS BEFORE MINCHA

One hour prior to Shabbat Mincha,

join Rabbi Friedman for a discussion

of new and relevant topics.