POWER OF THE WORD

Dear Family,

I hope that everyone is well and settling back into the worldly life of Cheshvan, after all the excitement of Tishrei.

Mazal Tov to Micaela Fasman on her birthday next week. Micaela and her husband Justin newly joined our Group 2 weeks ago. Wishing you a wonderful year with much growth and happiness, especially together BEH!

Mazal Tov to Netanel Davidoff on his birthday tonight. So nice to see you over Yom Tov Netanel, and wishing you a year of much success at school and all your other activities BEH!

Mazal Tov to Yosef Davidoff on his birthday next week. Wishing you also a year of lots of success at school Yosef, and all of your other activities BEH!

Wishing long life to Janine Milner, Anthony and Gillian on the upcoming yohrtzeit of Uncle Henry ah next week. We have such fond memories of Uncle Henry and how we would always bring our medical problems to him, and he would patiently and caringly answer them all, and give treatments. His neshamah should have an aliyah!

This week we are in the Parshah of Noach and it is interesting how a few events came together this week, seemingly by “coincidence”!

Mommy’s English birthday comes up at the end of next week and some of our children gave us some vouchers for a day trip to the ZOO.

And of course “coincidentally”, Noach is about all the animals etc in the Ark

And today, “coincidentally”, I saw an interesting article in Chabad.org titled “What You Need To Know About Visiting The Zoo”! – Reflecting on it’s beauty, associated halachah, and it’s simple enjoyment.

See attached if interested:
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/7540726/jewish/What-You-Need-to-Know-About-Visiting-the-Zoo.htm

And in connection with the flood, I heard the following from Rabbi Yehoshua Gordon:

The Baal Shem Tov explains that the flood of Noach is not only a historical event, but it applies to each one of our own lives.

The Hebrew word for Ark is *Teva, *and it can also be translated as ‘WORD’.

Our own personal raging flood waters are all the trials and tribulations and worries that we have in trying to earn a living and other challenges, which try to drown our soul.

The solution is, as Torah commands us, ”Enter the Teva, ie enter into the words of Torah and Prayer – and then you will be saved from the flood”.

The above is the entering into the Ark, and later Noach is commanded to leave the Ark at the end of the flood.

The Baal Shem Tov follows up with the above theme to explain, that there comes a time in our lives when we have to go out, and engage fully with the world, and temporarily leave the Book (the Tevah)

But we minimally retain Praying 3 times per day and establishing fixed times for learning Torah, morning and night.

And work to make the world a dwelling place for Hashem.

Gut Shabbos to all