B'Yachad - Together The Electronic Alumni Newsletter of Ohr Somayach --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'Hinei ma tov u'ma na'im sheves achim gam 'Yachad' How good and pleasant it is for brothers to be 'Together' --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issue #16 Tishrei 5759 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transitions in Time and Place; The Reality of Elul by Rav Nota Schiller When I was in high school in New York, one of my classmates had a job with a local caterer whose establishment, though glatt kosher, rented its banquet halls for New Years' celebrations. One year this fellow came to us in a quandary. He had been required by his employer to shut off the lights in two separate parties at precisely midnight, signaling everyone to shout "Happy New Year!" The task, however, did not seem feasible. One hall was on the first floor, the other on the fourth, and the elevator was in disrepair. Given the locations of the light switches relative to the stairwell, let alone the arduous climb, it seemed impossible to extinguish the lights simultaneously. One of our friends suggested his hiring an assistant, but his already low wage made that impossible. I suggested that throughout the evening, approximately every hour, he should advance the clock in the downstairs party five minutes. With all the revelry no one would notice, and at midnight downstairs it would only be a quarter to twelve upstairs, leaving him ample time to move between halls. It worked like a charm. The two parties celebrated New Years fifteen minutes apart, and no one knew the difference. A few days later my friend came to us, suffering pangs of conscious. These people, he claimed, had been duped. They thought that they had ushered in 1951 at the right moment, but it was actually 1950. "Nachum," we told him, "feel at ease." We explained that if time is arbitrary and merely a fiction created by man, what difference does it make? It was 1950. It was 1951. It was the 31st of December. It was the 1st of January. There is no inherent reality, no substance to the difference. Is what we said to console him true, however? Is time fictitious? Has it no inherent reality, no substance of its own such that the difference between years bears no tangible lack or gain? In experiencing regret, what did Nachum sense if not time's realness and quantifiable loss? Nachum, in fact, personified the Jewish perspective of time. The Jew looks at time as reality. He sees that in crossing from erev Shabbat to Shabbat he is moving toward a new reality, a new state of sovereignty. That transition is as real to him as crossing landscapes and being subjected to new climates and natural resources. Environments create their own reality, as do shifts in time. For the Jew, moment is inseparable from circumstance. He relates to time as place. There is a question that the Abarbanel asks on the verse, "Until where will they continue to anger me." Why does the verse say "until where?" Expressing a query in time, it should say "until when." Yet the Jew relates to time as if it were space, as if it were a physical zone with its own particular characteristics. This time of year the prophet tells us "seek out G-d when he is more readily found." Chodesh Elul, through to Rosh Hashanah and the Aseres Yomei Teshuva, is a new environment in the Jewish year. The reality to which it subjects us is Hashem's increased accessibility, His intensified nearness, and that invites introspection and self-improvement, processes that, while arduous, are as rewarding as the longest continental journey. That internal journey begins with the sense that we have crossed from one reality into another, one ever more tangible and relevant than Nachum's New Years' party. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- A New Service! Ohr Somayach Alumni Directory On Line http://www.ohr.org.il/web/alumni Submit your personal information on-line at http://www.ohr.org.il/web/alumni/submit.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Your Newsletter We are interested in receiving contributions to the Alumni Newsletter, including articles, divrei Torah, suggestions and comments. Contact info@ohr.org.il --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Get ready for the next Ohr Somayach Alumni Reunion Dinner to be held next June. We are requesting volunteers to help in the production of this gala event. Please respond to info@ohr.org.il --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please inform us of your home and e-mail address changes. Also, help us to help others, and send us the names and addresses of alumni who are not receiving our literature. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Simchas & Announcements Mr. & Mrs. Dovid Romand on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Shlomo Meyer Mazel Tov to Mr. & Mrs. Zalman (Jerry) Mittman on birth of girl and the Bar Mitzvah of son. Mr. & Mrs. Shlomo Zalman Jessel on the birth of a son Mr. & Mrs Spencer Woodrow on the birth of a son Mr. & Mrs Hillel Belnick on the birth of a daughter, Avigal Sara Mr. & Mrs David Williams on the birth of a son, Chaim Michael Mr & Mrs. Michael and Della Treblow On Their Wedding Mr. Yonah Roberts & Ms. Rivka Winstead On Their Engagement Mr. & Mrs. Raphael S. Leban On The Birth Of A Son Mr. & Mrs. Josh Fass On The Birth of a Girl Mr. Dan Benjamin & Ms. Benita Jatwes On Their Engagment --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Let's Share Our Simchas TOGETHER with B'Yachad The only way we can have up-to-date information is if you provide it. Please send us your comments, suggestions, announcements, and ideas via one of the following methods: E-Mail: address your message to: ohr@virtual.co.il set the subject to "B'YACHAD" Fax: 972-2-581-2890, Attn.: B'YACHAD Post: Yeshiva Ohr Somayach, ATTN.: B'YACHAD 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street,POB 18103, Jerusalem 91180 ISRAEL Don't forget to submit your name and address for the Ohr Somayach Alumni Directory! 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