Mazel tov to Dr. Mervyn and Ann Lifschitz on the engagement of their daugh-ter Deborah to Josh Wilensky of West Hempstead, New York! May the couple merit to create a bayit ne’eman b’yisrael.

SHAWL this Shabbat will be taught by Bracha Goldberger, daughter-in-law of Ida Goldberger, about the 16th-century work Tomer Devorah by Rabbi Moshe Cordevero. See box at right. Next week, Tzofia Ungar and Terry Samuel will present on the topic of “Kiddush Hashem.”

Please note that SHAWL is always for women only, unless otherwise approved in advance by a member of the DAT Minyan staff. Requests from men to attend, or for a particular class to be open to men, should be made in advance to a member of the DAT Minyan staff.

This Shabbat Afternoon at Seudah Shelishit, we will have the opportunity to hear from Neil Dobro, on behalf of Ameri-cans Against Terrorism, on the topic “What Is a Jew’s Re-sponsibility in the Face of the Iranian Threat?” Seudah Shelishit will begin at around 8:10 pm.

New Newsletter Welcoming Policy—Given space limita-tions and in an effort to increase consistency and avoid hurt feelings, we will begin printing the names of visitors only for semachot (such as a Bar or Bat Mitzvah), as well as new shul partners and visiting speakers. For clarification of this revised policy, please email post@datminyan.org.

All Hands on Deck—Please support the daily Minyan while many of our regulars are away for the summer! Any and all help is greatly appreciated during these difficult summer months.

Send some love to Rabbi Narrowe! Donate food and other provisions at DATMinyan.org/Narrowe.

Please remember to keep all food in the Multipurpose Room during Kiddush.

DAT MINYAN NEWS AND EVENTS

DAT Minyan 6825 Alameda Ave., Denver, CO 80224 www.datminyan.org Twitter: @datminyan

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

DAY TIME TOPIC TEACHER PLACE

Fri. Before Maariv D’var Torah Aaron Brooks MPR

שבת

8:30 am Tefillah Ellyn Hutt MPR

After Hashkama D’var Torah 112 Yoni Rabinovitch

After Mussaf Derasha Howie Shapiro MPR

Haftarah/Mussaf Parsha Class Rabbi Gitler 111

6:30 pm HS Boys Gemara Dr. N. Rabinovitch MPR

6:00 pm SHAWL Bracha Goldberger 111

Tomer Devorah

6:45 pm Open Beit Medrash MPR

After Mincha Seudah Shelishit Neil Dobro MPR

“What Is a Jew’s Responsibility in the Face of the Iranian Threat?”

Sun. Not Meeting Advanced Talmud Rabbi Eli Mozes N/A

Welcome to the Parshat Noach

October 25, 2014 1 Marcheshvan 5775

Candles (10/15): 6:03 Candles (10/16): 7:01 Candles (10/17): 6:00 Havdala (10/18): 6:58 Candles (10/24): 5:50

Welcome to the DAT Minyan Shabbat Parshat Chukat

June 27, 2015 10 Tammuz 5775

Please help make our Tefillot meaningful by refraining from talking during Davening.

Fri. June 26

שבתJune 27

Sun. June 28

Mon. Juue 29

Tue. June 30

Wed. July 1

Thu July 2

Fri. July 3

Shacharit Latest Shema 9:15 am

6:45 7:30, 9:00 8:00 6:35 6:45 6:45 6:35 6:45

Mincha/Maariv Earliest Shema 9:19 pm

6:50 7:45/9:13 8:20 8:20 8:20 8:20 8:20 6:50

Candles (10/15): 6:03 Candles (10/16): 7:01 Candles (10/17): 6:00 Havdala (10/18): 6:58 Candles (10/24): 5:50

Candles (10/15): 6:03 Candles (10/16): 7:01 Candles (10/17): 6:00 Havdala (10/18): 6:58 Candles (10/24): 5:50

Candles: 6:58-8:14 Havdalah: 9:14

Parsha: p. 838 Haftarah: p. 1187

KIDDUSH and SEUDAH SHELISHIT sponsored by the Shul.

THANK YOU to Dr . Evelyn Male for co-sponsoring last week’s Seudah Shelishit in honor of Ida Goldberger.

The DAT Minyan Board of Directors is excited to announce that Rabbi Joseph Friedman has accepted the position of Rabbi of the DAT Minyan and agreed to a 3-year contract.

We look forward to welcoming him, his wife Melissa, and their family to Denver to lead our community beginning August 8.

A special thank you to David Fishman, Scott Friedman and Steve Weiser for their efforts in stewarding a smooth negotiation process.

We look forward to an inspiring and bright future together!

Read a D’var Torah and words of greeting from Rabbi Friedman beginning on Page 2.

MAJOR RABBINIC ANNOUNCEMENT

Refuah Shleima

Please include the following names in your prayers. May each be granted a Refuah Shleima. 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 GoogleDoc.

Alta Chana bat Nechama Dovid Yisroel Baer ben Freida Gisha Sara Chana bat Shaina Shoshana Michal bat Sarah Avraham Shalom ben Henna Baruch Getzel ben Esther chaim shmuel ben miriam Chaya Chanah Elisheva Rivka bat Sarah Dina bat Hyla and Shayla Ida bat Esa Kalman ben Esther Leah bat Sara Michael Aharon ben Hasia Miriam Tova Chaya bat Chanah Moshe Shalom ben Shoshana Michal Noa Shani bat Chaya Bracha Raphael Yotam ben Efrat Sandra Miriam Shoshana bat Chanah Sarah Esther bat Faiyge Sarah Shoshanna bat Sarah Shashi bat Batya Baila Shirley Hasia bat Devorah Tova Leah bat Chana Ita Sheiva bas Udya Rabbi Ephraim Ben Henna Devorah Leah bat Chanah Lebah Chanah Bat Hadassah Chaim Benjamin ben Bracha Leah Devora Kivitiya bat Chaya Yehuda ben Margalit Sarah (Rabbi) Tzvi Gershon ben Shaindel Shaina Raizel

Weekly Halacha: Kashrut Rabbi Yaakov Beasley (vbm.org)

Up to now we have explored the Rambam’s belief that the reason for Kashrut is to preserve our physical health and the Abarbanel’s counterargument that Kashrut safeguards our spiritual health.

However, this approach also has its draw-backs. Aside from being impossible to prove ra-tionally, we must address the fundamental question of how food, a physical thing, can influence man’s spirituality. How can we explain the transition from body to soul? The thirteenth century Jewish mystic, Menahem Recanati, in his book Ta'amei Ha-Mitzvot, analyzes the mental make-up of man and attempts to demonstrate how it is influenced by food. In his view, the human body is an instrument of the soul and the means by which the soul can discharge its task in this world. Since the body is the intermediary between the soul and the world, it matters a great deal whether or not this instrument is a willing servant of the soul. Recanati wrote:

Even as a craftsman cannot do his work without proper tools, so the soul cannot fulfill its task without a cooperating body. As it makes a great deal of difference for any precision work whether a craftsman possesses fine tools or not, so it is of great importance for the human soul whether the body consists of fine or of coarse material. Ever the light shines the brighter through a good lamp, and the same trees yield differ-ent fruit according to the soil in which they are planted. (The Jewish Dietary Laws, p. 22)

According to Recanati, all souls are of equal holiness originally, but the degree of holiness that they are able to attain in this world depends largely on the particular body that the soul inhabits. Forbidden food makes the body coarse and increas-es the power of the evil inclination, providing a very poor intermediary between the soul and the outside world.

D’var Torah Rabbi Joseph Friedman

We read in Parshat Chukat about the passing of Miriam. Many commentators point out that the Torah makes no mention of the Jewish People mourning her passing, unlike what it records re-garding the death of her two brothers: “…[T]he entire assembly . . . wept for Aaron thirty days …” (Bamidbar 20:28); “The Children of Israel bewailed Moshe in the Plains of Moab for thirty days …” (Devarim 34:8). Instead, all we read regarding Miriam’s passing is, “Miriam died there and she was buried there” (Bamidbar 20:1). Equally puzzling is the very next verse. “And there was no water for the assembly, and they gathered together upon Moshe and upon Aaron.” It appears that, immediately upon her death, the supply of water from the miraculous well—which had been traveling with the Jews all these years—simply stopped. From this the Talmud [Ta’anit 9a] deduces that the very existence and operation of this miraculous well was in the merit of Miriam HaNe’viah. If so, why should the well stop upon her death? Is that any way to memorialize her—by having her people suffer? The Kli Yakar suggests that the Well stopped flowing as a punishment for the fact the people did not mourn her death, eulogize her passing, even muster a single tear. However, we are left with a greater ques-tion: how could it be that they didn’t mourn her? How could it be they didn’t appreciate that the Well existed in Miriam's merit? And if they DID know, why didn’t they pay her the proper respect when she died? Perhaps the answer is one with which we are all too familiar. I’m pretty sure—commenting all the way from Memphis—that your lawns are green. Denver has received plenty of rain this year (despite all the promises I’ve received about the mythical “300 days of sun-shine!” Yeah. Right). How often do we think about the remarkable miracle of rain? I guarantee you that Californians think about it. For those of us blessed with health, how often do we think about the ubiquitous miracle of our very bodies? I spent time this week with a thirty-four-year-old airman dying of a rare, aggressive cancer, whose wife is expecting their third child this summer. I guarantee you they think about it. For those of us who are employed and have resources with which to provide for ourselves and our families, how often do we think about the miracle of Parnasah? We all know people who struggle with work, who struggle finding work, who may have given up on the hope of EVER working again. I guarantee Cont’d on page 3

you they think about it. The fact is we become accustomed to even the greatest of miracles. I’m sure forty years earlier, when they re-ceived water from the rock for the very first time, the Jewish People were blown away. They may have even been amazed for that whole first year. But when something continues for forty years, day after day, week after week, month after month … we start to take it for granted. Klal Yisroel, the Jewish People, took Miriam for granted, they took her merit and her miracle for granted, and they needed to learn a lesson: we can NEVER take miracles – health, wealth, rain, anything – for granted. This week, the Board of Directors and I concluded contract negotiations and I proudly, excitedly, and humbly agreed to accept the position of Rav of the DAT Minyan. First, as I did earlier this week, I must thank those involved – Rachel, David and Scott – for all their efforts in making this happen. I do not take them, or their work, for granted. Sec-ondly, and I know I speak for the entire membership when I say, any success I am destined to achieve together with you will be building on the incredible efforts and successes of Rabbi Daniel Alter, who served this community so selflessly and so meaningfully for so many years. I, and I know you, do not take him, his family, and what they accomplished here for granted. Finally, as I shared during the “Interview Shabbat,” my journey to Denver was, well, miraculous. I cannot ad-dress it all here. Let me just share this: there had been an attorney position in Memphis for which I had applied, and on the flight home from Denver, Melissa asked me, if offered, would I take it. I responded, “To even consider it I would have to see the revealed Hand of Hashem in that opportunity as clearly as I have seen it in this one.” I think of the words of King David: “Darashti Et Hashem, V’Anani - I sought Hashem, and He answered me” [Tehilim 34:4]. I do not take the power of prayer for granted, I certainly do not take Hashem for granted, nor do I take for granted this incredible op-portunity He has presented me to partner with you in building the glorious future of the DAT Minyan. Shabbat Shalom!

D’VAR TORAH (cont’d from Page 2)

DAT Minyan Rabbi Daniel Alter 6825 Alameda Ave., Denver, CO 80224 (303) 281-8999 facebook.com/datminyan

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

* DAT Minyan only certifies Kashrut of events it hosts or co-sponsors.

* Summer with Rabbi Rapp—Rabbi Dani Rapp has returned to EDOS for the summer. Highlights include an in-depth look into the Dayan system every Sunday night after Maariv; Halacha Shiur after Shacharis every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday; Women's Shiur on Megillas Esther every Monday at 7:00 pm; Business Ethics Shiur every Tuesday night after Maariv; Medical Ethics Shiur every Wednesday night after Maariv; and The Parsha in Halacha every Thursday night after Maariv. Community lunch with panel discussion July 11 and August 2. See the complete calendar, including special events, at https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/orbcp7v5gk4krp3915rhtmbmh4%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics.

2015 Western Conservative Summit—June 26-28 at the Colorado Convention Center, hosted by Centennial Insti-tute. For the first time ever we will be providing a Friday evening/Saturday morning Shabbat service for our guests, under the supervision of Rabbi Zalman Popack. Licensed child care will be provided; register by June 20th with the promo code 'Mishpocheh,' and you will receive a full weekend pass with a 50% discount. For additional information, a full schedule, and to register for the event, please visit wcs15.co, or contact Dan Kopelman at shab-bat@dankopelman.com.

Less Stress, More Joy Coaching presents a seminar on Innate Health entitled “Life is a Roller Coaster, Not a Run-away Train: How to Sit Back and Enjoy the Ride.” Sunday, June 28, 9:00 am-4:00 pm at The Jewish Experience Cen-ter. Led by Mary Martin, LCSW, and Chaya Parkoff, CPLC, Women’s Programming Coordinator for The Jewish Ex-perience. $39/person if registered by June 25. Sign up online at theje.com/innate-health or call 303-316-6412.

CAJE Adult Ed Summer Series—Want to hear Rabbi Michael Sunshine and other great educators discuss the great-est challenge to Judaism? Come to the CAJE Adult Ed Summer series to be held Wednesdays in July from 7-8:30 pm. Rabbi Sunshine will be featured at our first session! For more information, check out http://goo.gl/EYLWwL or email Sarah Levy at slevy@caje-co.org.

Summer Shiurim at Merkaz—Merkaz Summer Shiurim Series featuring Rabbi Akiva Stern and Mrs. Ellyn Hutt. All shiurim take place at Merkaz, 295 South Locust St, 8:00-9:00 pm. Suggested donation $5/Class. Two-part series for men and women, by Rabbi Akiva Stern. Wed., July 8: “The Three Week Continuum;”

Wed., July 15: “Meeting G-d In Sorrow.” Three-part series for women: “Insights into Megillas Eicha,” Mrs. Ellyn Hutt. Mondays, June 29, July 6 and 13.

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

DAT MINYAN YOUTH ANNOUNCEMENTS

Youth Group Guidelines: Pick up for all groups (including 4th-6th graders) is indoors. Please bring your child’s labeled water bottle, hat, and jacket to groups with them. Advisors

and kids are not allowed to get these items from the coat rack or strollers during groups.

A parent or guardian must be on shul premises when children are in groups.

Children not attending groups must be supervised by a parent or guardian at all times.

Please remember to pick up your children immediately after the Rabbi’s speech.

Happy Birthday:

Talia Schrutt Talya Sobel Akiva Rubin Is your child’s birthday not listed? Email Mor Shapiro at youth@datminyan.org.

We asked Rabbi Narrowe to send us notes from Afghanistan describing what life is like for him there. This is his first dispatch.—Ed. First of all, I want to thank you all for the packages I have been getting. I really appreciate your kindness and gener-osity. I know I haven't written since I got here. I guess I have been hiding from the world focusing on stuff around here. My deployment is going very well. I work for a very supportive commander and have a fabulous staff working for me. We are well known around base and have made an impact on a lot of people here. The Jewish program is going pretty well. After services Friday evening we have had a Shabbos meal together in the dining facility. I am the only Jew of the 4-6 people who come which is quite funny. I have had a few Jews come once, but they have not returned. Those things happen around here. It is not surprising considering that the Jews who join the military tend not to be very connected to the Jewish community. It is funny, though, to see all these people eat treif food while I am having the Shabbos dinner. It is a great time, though. We start with Shalom Aleichem, Eshes Chayil, and Kiddush. We have at least one D'var Torah (sometimes we talk about other passages in the Bible so there might be more than one), we sing some Z'miros, and we end with Birkas Hamazon. Not bad! Several of the people who come every week tell me that it is their highlight of the week. I could probably make it in our chapel area and make it kosher, but the food wouldn't be very exciting and I don't really have time to cook it. I don't think that it really matters since most aren't Jewish. We have a good time, though. I also want to tell another interesting Jewish story. About 6 weeks ago this woman came to services a few times. She was Jewish (I think that she has gone home by now). She told me about these ceramic tiles that she found here which have Hebrew writing on them. She told me that she had bought several of them. She brought one over to me and it was the Birkas Habayis that many of us have at home. It was very nicely written in Hebrew. There used to be a big Jewish commu-nity in Herat and I suspect that the tile came from there. Another interesting thing is that the merchant who sold it to her (we have 2 Shuk's (or Souk as it is called in Arabic) here) knew that it was Jewish. It makes me wonder what other Jewish stuff is still around in this country. Tomorrow I will be traveling north in Afghanistan. I have been to Kabul twice at the Coalition military headquar-ters. It is a really nice base near the US Embassy even though it is only about 2 blocks big. As I said, this is a pretty good deployment so far. I expect to be here until after Simchas Torah so I should return sometime mid-October. I will send you another note or two before then though, G-d willing. I wish that you all stay safe (I think it is safer here than in Denver, since we have only had 1 US combat death since I got here). Lehitraot, Josh N.

DISPATCHES FROM AFGHANISTAN