Welcome to the DAT Minyan! Shabbat Mevarchim (Shekalim-Vayakhel)

March 2, 2019 - 25 Adar I, 5779 Joseph Friedman, Rabbi | Mark Raphaely, President

Candle Lighting

Havdalah

5:34 pm 6:33pm

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 - 560 S. Monaco Pkwy., Denver, CO 80224 - 720-941-0479 - www.datminyan.org

Shabbat Schedule (All services take place in the BMH-BJ Fisher Hall, 560

S. Monaco Pkwy)

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

FRIDAY

5:35 pm: Mincha

(Shema should be recited after 6:31 pm)

SHABBAT

Parasha: Page 516 / Maftir Page 484 Haftarah: Page 1212

7:50 am: Hashkama Minyan

8:20 am: Daf Yomi

8:30 am: Tefillah Warm-up with Ellyn Hutt

9:00 am: Shacharit

(Shema should be recited before 9:21 am)

Today’s kiddush in honor of the shul’s Bar Mitzvah is sponsored by the founders of the DAT

Minyan listed on Page 4

HS Boys’ Gemara Class will not meet this Shabbat

4:45 pm: Rabbi Friedman presents a discussion on the AIPAC statement regarding Otzma Yehudit , in Fisher Hall

5:30 pm: Mincha followed by Seudah Shlisheet

6:33 pm: Maariv / Havdalah

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Weekday Schedule (Weekday services Sunday through Friday morning take place at DAT School, 6825 E. Alameda Ave. )

SHACHARIT

Sunday: 8:00 am

Monday through Wednesday: 6:35 am

Thursday and Friday: 6:25 am (Rosh Chodesh

Adar II)

MINCHA/MAARIV

Sunday through Thursday: 5:35 pm

Friday: 5:40 pm

D’var Torah with Rabbi Jonathan Sacks In Ki Tissa and in Vayakhel we encounter the figure of Betzalel, a rare type in the Hebrew Bible– the artist, the craftsman, the shaper of beauty in the service of God, the man who, together with Oholiab, fashioned the articles associated with the Tabernacle. Judaism – in sharp contrast to ancient Greece – did not cherish the visual arts. The reason is clear. The biblical prohibition against graven images associates them with idolatry. Historically, images, fetishes, icons and statues were linked in the ancient world with pagan religious practices. The idea that one might worship “the work of men’s hands” was anathema to biblical faith.

More generally, Judaism is a culture of the ear, not the eye. As a religion of the invisible God, it attaches sanctity to words heard, rather than objects seen. Hence there is a generally negative attitude within Judaism towards representational art.

There are some famous illustrated manuscripts (such as the Bird’s Head Haggada, Bavaria, circa 1300) in which human figures are given bird’s heads to avoid representing the full human form. Art is not forbidden as such; there is a difference between three-dimensional and two-dimensional representation. As Rabbi Meir of Rothenburg (c. 1215–1293) made clear in a responsum, “There is no trespass [in illustrated books] against the biblical prohibition…[illustrations] are merely flat patches of colour lacking sufficient materiality [to constitute a graven image].” Indeed several ancient synagogues in Israel had quite elaborate mosaics. In general, however, art was less emphasised in Judaism than in Christian cultures in which the Hellenistic influence was strong.

Positive references to art in the rabbinic literature are rare. One exception is Maimonides, who says the following:

If one is afflicted with melancholy, he should cure it by listening to songs and various kinds of melodies, by walking in gardens and fine buildings, by sitting before beautiful forms, and by things like this which delight the soul and make the disturbance of melancholy disappear from it. In all this heshould aim at making his body healthy, the goal of his body’s health being that he attain knowledge.

The very terms in which Maimonides describes the aesthetic experience make it clear, however, that he sees art in strictly instrumental terms, as a way of relieving depression. There is no suggestion that it has value in its own right.

The strongest positive statement on art of which I am aware was made by Rabbi Abraham ha-Cohen Kook, the first Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of (pre-State) Israel, describing his time in London during the First World War:

When I lived in London, I would visit the National Gallery, and the paintings that I loved the most were those of Rembrandt. In my opinion Rembrandt was a saint. When I first saw Rembrandt’s paintings, they re minded me of the rabbinic statement about the creation of light. When God created the light [on the first day], it was so strong and luminous that it was possible to see from one end of the world to the other. And God feared that the wicked would make use of it. What did He do? He secret ed it for the righteous in the world to come. But from time to time there are great men whom God blesses with a vision of that hidden light. I be lieve that Rembrandt was one of them, and the light in his paintings is that light which God created on Genesis day.

(Continued on Page 2)

We kindly ask you to pay any outstanding balances owed

to the shul from last year. Please call the shul office or pay

online after logging into your account at

www.datminyan.org. Dues owed for the second half of our

current fiscal year have now been posted to all applicable

accounts. Thank you!

D’VAR TORAH CONTINUED

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

Rembrandt is known to have had a special affection for Jews. He visited them in his home town of Amsterdam, and painted them, as well as many scenes from the Hebrew Bible. I suspect that what Rabbi Kook saw in his paintings, though, was Rembrandt’s ability to convey the beauty of ordinary people. He makes no attempt (most notably in his self-portraits) to beautify or idealise his subjects. The light that shines from them is, simply, their humanity.

It was Samson Raphael Hirsch who distinguished ancient Greece from ancient Israel in terms of the contrast between aesthetics and ethics. In his comment on the verse “May God enlarge Japheth and let him dwell in the tents of Shem” (Genesis 9:27), he observes:

The stem of Japheth reached its fullest blossoming in the Greeks; that of Shem in the Hebrews, Israel, who bore and bear the name (Shem) of God through the world of nations…Japheth has ennobled the world aesthetically. Shem has enlightened it spiritually and morally.

Yet as we see from the case of Betzalel, Judaism is not indifferent to aesthetics. The concept of hiddur mitzvah, “beautifying the commandment,” meant, for the sages, that we should strive to fulfil the commands in the most aesthetically pleasing way. The priestly garments were meant to be “for honour and adornment” (Exodus 28:2). The very terms applied to Betzalel – wisdom, understanding and knowledge – are applied by the book of Proverbs to God Himself as creator of the universe:

The law and the Lord founded the earth by wisdom;

He established the heavens by understanding;

By His knowledge the depths burst apart,

And the skies distilled dew. (Proverbs: 3:19–20)

The key to Betzalel lies in his name. It means “In the shadow of God.” Betzalel’s gift lay in his ability to communicate, through his work, that art is the shadow cast by God. Religious art is never “art for art’s sake.” Unlike secular art, it points to something beyond itself. The Tabernacle itself was a kind of microcosm of the universe, with one overriding particularity: that in it you felt the presence of something beyond – what the Torah calls “the glory of God” which “filled the Tabernacle” (Exodus 40:35).

The Greeks, and many in the Western world who inherited their tradition, believed in the holiness of beauty (Keats’ “Beauty is truth, truth beauty, that is all / Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know”). Jews believed in the opposite: hadrat kodesh, the beauty of holiness: “Give to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness” (Psalms 29:2). Art in Judaism always has a spiritual purpose: to make us aware of the universe as a work of art, testifying to the supreme Artist, God Himself.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks (Continued from Page 1)

This Day in Jewish History - 2 March / 25 Adar I

25 Adar, 1181 - King Philip II Augustus of France orders the arrest of all Jews attending synagogues on Shabbat.

In addition, he devised ways to extract enormous amounts of money from French Jews, including canceling all

debts payable to them, for which one-fifth of the debt was made payable to his own treasury. One year later,

Augustus banished all Jews from Paris and confiscated their property, only to readmit them in 1198 when he set

up a taxation scheme to make more money for himself.

25 Adar, 1634 - The first English colonists arrive at St. Clement’s Island, on Maryland’s western shore, and found

the settlement of St. Mary’s. Under the reign of George Calvert, the first Lord Baltimore, the territory became a

refuge for Roman Catholics persecuted in England. As the population of Maryland grew, it became a center of

religious conflict between American Puritans and Catholics which lasted until the early 19th century, when immi-

grants to America began to settle in Baltimore and helped enact laws to protect their free practice of religion.

Today, more than a half million Jews live in the Baltimore area, making it one of the largest populations of Jews

in the U.S.

March 2, 1965 - Considered one of the most popular movie musicals of all time, “The Sound of Music” is re-

leased in the United States. The film received five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, but

is probably most remembered for its musical score, written by Jewish composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Os-

car Hammerstein, whose father was Jewish. The duo wrote 11 musicals during their 16-year partnership.

DAT MINYAN NEWS, EVENTS AND MILESTONES

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

Women in the community are cordially invited to our second special women’s event, “Love is in the Details: A Review of the Laws of Family Purity,” a discussion with Liora Wittlin, this Sunday evening, March 3rd, at the home of Alexis Gorlin, at 7:30 pm. Please see the flyer on Page 6 for complete details.

When entering the DAT School building for minyanim, please use the south entrance. The keypad code is available from the shul office.

Join us Sunday evening, April 7th, at the Denver Botanic Gardens for our DAT Minyan Annual Event honoring Steve and Ellyn Hutt. Enjoy the beauty of the gardens, a delectable meal and the friendship of the community as we gather to pay tribute to one of our most inspiring couples! Reservations and ads for our Annual Event Tribute Journal can be submitted through our website, or by visiting www.datminyan.org/annualevent2019 . Please see the Event invitation on Page 5 of the Newsletter.

Thank-you to all of those who contribute to our Shabbat services by signing up to help with our weekly leining. We remain in need of continued help with this and all able-leiners 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. Slots are open from now through mid-March. Please contact Steve Hutt for questions and additional information.

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS The community is invited to a special kiddush sponsored by the Makowitz family at Bais Menachem this Shabbat, in celebration of

several family milestones.

Bais Menachem invites the community to a Falafel Melava Malka. Motzei Shabbat, March 2nd, 7:45 pm. RSVP at chabadcolorado.brooke@gmail.com .

The Traveling Beit Medrash is back, just in time for Purim, 8:00 pm to 9:00 pm, Monday evenings, 3/4/19 (at Bais Menachem), 3/11/19 (at DAT), and 3/18/19 (at Merkaz). Maariv at 9:00 pm follows learning.

The community is invited to the screening of the critically acclaimed film “Prosecuting Evil,” the fascinating story of Ben Ferencz and his pursuit of justice and fearless commitment to humanity. A discussion with Scott Levin, Regional Director of ADL, follows the film. The event takes place Tuesday, March 19th, 7:00 pm at the Sie Film Center, 2150 E. Colfax Ave. Tickets available through the Mizel Museum, or online at https://mizel.secure.force.com/museum/eslt__SiteEstoreProducts?id=a122I00000CLhxl .

The Denver Community Kollel will hold its 21st Annual Celebration, honoring Neil and Vicki Bluma Olesky for their dedication to the growth of Torah in Denver, Sunday March 17th, 6:30 pm at Aish Denver, 9550 E. Belleview Ave., Greenwood Village. Reservations at https://www.denverkollel.org/dinner-registration/ .

Women in our community are invited to join Ellyn Hutt for an intimate, custom-designed 9-day trip to Israel from May 5-15th. The theme: “Creating and Nourishing a Balanced Mind, Body, and Soul.” Arriving on Rosh Chodesh Iyar, the group will be in Israel to celebrate Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzmaut. Please contact Ellyn for all the details at ehutt@theje.com . Space is limited.

We would like to thank our Legacy Society donors for investing in our future by naming the DAT Minyan with a gift in their will, trust, retirement account or life insurance policy. Our Legacy Society includes:

Rob Allen Graeme and Irit Bean

Myndie Brown

Steve and Ellyn Hutt Nathan and Rachel Rabinovitch

Mark and Sarah Raphaely Harley and Sara Rotbart

Michael Stutzer Steve and Lori Weiser

You can add your name to this list with a legacy gift to the DAT Minyan. To arrange for your gift or for more information about our Legacy Society program, please contact any of the following Committee Members: Rob Allen, Myndie Brown, Sarah Raphaely or Steve Weiser.

THANK YOU FOR INSPIRING FUTURE GENERATIONS WITH YOUR GENEROSITY

DAT Minyan acknowledges the following milestones* of our members this Shabbat and in the coming week:

Ted Brandt, Evan Kornbluth, Rachel Kornbluth, Emma Loewenthal, Bob Marks, Naomi Miriam Miller, Ella Mogyoros, Yoshi Polotsky, Chava Riemer, Ronald Rubin, Robert Wilkin, Ahuva Zalesch Ronald Turteltaub - Thu., 3/7/19 (30 Adar)

*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 errors. For changes, please log on to your account and update the information as needed, 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. Bella bat Malka Benyamin ben Hinda Sarah Eliyahu Chaim ha Cohen ben Sara Rifka Eliyahu Dovid ben Ita Sheiva Guy Chaim ben Rita Levick Yitzchak ben Bracha Leya bat Sara Malka bat Sarah Mascha bat Rus Mayer Benya ben Nechama

Meira bas Malka Mendel Ila ben Frida Miriam Michel ben Leah Michoel Zisel ben Barbara Noach ben Minna Batsheva Raphael Lior ben Miriam Roshka bat Bryna Yonatan Zeev ben Netaa Yonina Tova Tziriel bat Alta Chaya Yosef Shalom Chai haLevi ben Chana

Learning Opportunities @ the DAT Minyan • Kitzur Shulchan Aruch: Daily, after Shacharit

• Daf Yomi Shiur (30 min): after Shacharit on Sun through Fri , and 8:20 am on Shabbat

• Mishnayot: Daily, between Mincha and Maariv

• Halacha Chaburah: Sun, 10:00 am—11:00 am, returning soon

• “Short & Sweet Talmud Class” (30 min-never longer): Wed, 9:20 am, DAT Minyan offices at BMH-BJ (men only)

• Rabbi Friedman Wed. Night Class: 7:30 pm at DAT, with Part 2 in the second series on the “Shabbat Kitchen: A Refresher Course We ALL Need”

EDUCATIONAL AND YOUTH ANNOUNCEMENTS

All teens are invited to join us this Shabbat for

“Teen Minyan”

9:45 am in the Library

We welcome all children through 6th grade to join our Junior Congregation Program.

ALL youth groups meet at 9:00 am.

If you or someone you know (college age and above) is interested in working in the Youth

Groups Program, please contact Mor at youth@datminyan.org.

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

Important Security Reminder

For the safety and security of everyone attending the DAT Minyan, we ask that all children either be in attendance at one of our childrens’

programs or with a parent AT ALL TIMES when in the building. Children may not be left unescorted to roam hallways.

OUR THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING FAMILIES FOR THEIR GENEROUS SPONSORSHIP OF TODAY’S DAT MINYAN BAR MITZVAH KIDDUSH

Rabbi Daniel and Rivka Alter

Graeme and Irit Bean

Ian and Anath Gardenswartz

Nathan and Rachel Rabinovitch

Craig and Karen Schottenstein

Peter Schwartz

Josh and Susie Sharf

Rabbi Aaron and Hadassah

Wasserman