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Shabbat Parashat Bereishit 5781

Bereishit | 29 Tishrei 5781 | 17/10/2020

Parashat Hashavua: Clothes Like a Lantern

In the gemara in Sota (14a), Rabbi Simla’i expounded on the structure of the chumash as follows: The Torah begins with gemilut chasadim (acts of kindness) and ends with gemilut chasadim. It begins with gemilut chasadim, in that it says, “Hashem made for Adam and his wife garments of leather (kotnot or), and He dressed them” (Bereishit 3:21). It ends with gemilut chasadim, in that the pasuk says: “[Hashem] buried [Moshe] in the valley” (Devarim 34:6).

Ask the Rabbi: Taking Out a Sefer Torah for a Child to See

My two-year old loves sifrei Torah and when he is with me in the Beit Midrash, he is sometimes adamant that I take one out and show him the writing. May I do that?

Ein Ayah: Unique Tears

Whoever sheds tears for a worthy person has Hashem count [the tears] and place them in His storage houses, as the pasuk says: “My being emotionally moved You counted, You placed my tears in Your flask, indeed in Your place of accounting” (Tehillim 56:9).

P'ninat Mishpat: Questionable Firing and its Financial Implications – part III

The plaintiff (=pl) began working in 2009 for the defendant (=def), an informal education organization, as the director of its midrasha, which runs educational tours for students. Pl was very successful for close to two years in his main task, expanding the midrasha’s reach. Def was unwilling to pay pl a set salary due to uncertainty about resources, and so pl agreed to a salary of 50% of net profits from the midrasha’s operations plus a set rate for tours he led. In 2011, the midrasha began receiving funding from the Education Ministry. This affected pl’s salary in two ways: He could no longer lead tours due to lack of a degree; the cost of tour leaders with degrees was higher, which lowered the net profits that made up his salary. Tensions between the sides grew over pl’s demands to rework his salary and complaints about how the process of joining up with the Education Ministry was done. A few months later, def fired pl (there were several months left on their contract). Pl demands payment until the contract’s completion, severance pay, and penalties for late payment (he received salary only after groups paid). Def respond that the firing was justified because pl began to disregard orders and was often unavailable (he began university studies). They point out that the contract states that pl waives severance pay and that, in any case, he was not a salaried work. They countersued for having overpaid, as they did not factor in certain expenses when determining the net profits.

Bereishit 5781
Microsoft Word Document

Bereishit 5781

We daven for a complete and speedy refuah for:

Hemdat Yamim is dedicated

to the memory of:

those who fell in wars

for our homeland

Eretz Hemdah's beloved friends

and Members of

Eretz Hemdah's Amutah

Rav Shlomo Merzel z”l
Iyar 10 5771

Rav Reuven Aberman z"l

Tishrei 9 5776

Mr. Shmuel Shemesh z"l
Sivan 17 5774

Mr. Moshe Wasserzug z"l

Tishrei 20 5781

R' Eliyahu Carmel z"l

Rav Carmel's father

Iyar 8 5776

Mrs. Sara Wengrowsky

bat R’ Moshe Zev a”h.

Tamuz 10 5774

Rav Asher Wasserteil z"l

Kislev 9 5769

R' Meir ben

Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld z"l

Mrs. Sara Brachfeld z"l

Tevet 16 5780

R' Yaakov ben Abraham & Aisha

and

Chana bat Yaish & Simcha

Sebbag, z"l

Rav Yisrael Rozen z"l
Cheshvan 13 5778

Rav Benzion Grossman z"l
Tamuz 23 5777

Rav Moshe Zvi (Milton)

Polin z"l

Tamuz 19 5778

R' Abraham Klein z"l

Iyar 18 5779

Mrs. Gita Klein z"l

4 Av

Hemdat Yamim
is endowed by Les & Ethel Sutker
of Chicago, Illinois
in loving memory of
Max and Mary Sutker

Nir Rephael ben Rachel Bracha
Rivka Reena bat Gruna Natna

Vicki Victoria bat Daisy

Yishai ben Tamar

Meira bat Esther

Orit bat Sarah

Together with all cholei Yisrael

A weekly divrei Torah leaflet: A Glimpse at the Parasha, Ask the Rabbi, From the writings of Harav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, zt”l, Pninat Mishpat (Jewish Monetary Law).