There is a niggun that we sing every Shabbat at Shaare Tefilla, and in many Modern Orthodox synagogues, that is actually the final few moments of a 20-minute long Chassidic niggun from the Vizhnitz community. The amazing thing about it is that the composer of this niggun, Zeidel Rovner (Yaakov Shmuel Maragovsky) had connections in pre-war Chassidic Europe, and in the American synagogue. The niggun is Bei Ana Rachitz, and a fascinating history of it prepared by Rabbi Shraga D. Homnick can be found here. I found this endlessly fascinating and I hope you will, too!
Hakarat HaTov Corner
Thank you to Joey Schonbrunn for arranging a lovely Siyum/Breakfast for the Daf Yomi as we made a siyum on Masechet Ketubot this past Sunday. We have begun the study of MAsechet Nedarim and anyone who wants to join, and make Torah study a daily occurrence, is more than welcome.
Mystery Shul Of The Week
This shul was built between 2004-2006 in a city known more for a terrorist attack against Jews, not for the robust Jewish community that lived there at one time. Name the shul and the city in which it is located.
Last week’s mystery shul of the week must have been too difficult, as no one guessed the answer. It is the Baal Shem Tov Shul in Wesley Hills, New York (a neighborhood in Monsey), constructed as an updated replica of the shul of the Baal Shem Tov in Mezhibush, Ukraine. This year, on Tisha B’Av, bricks from 22 shuls and former Jewish communities in Poland were cemented into the facade of the building.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
Congregation Shaare Tefilla 6131 Churchill Way Dallas, TX 75230
