B"H

Friday, Iyar 28, 5786 (43rd day of the Omer) / May 15, 2026

This Shabbat we read Parshat Bamidbar, beginning the fourth Book of the Torah - the Book of Numbers. This Parsha is read on the Shabbat before Shavuot - the holiday which celebrates the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

Shavuot will begin next week, Thursday evening, through Friday and Shabbat. In Israel, the holiday is celebrated only one day. Thus, it is celebrated next Thursday night and Friday. Being that next Shabbat is a holiday in the Diaspora and not in Israel, the Torah readings from next Shabbat will differ between Israel and the Diaspora.

This Shabbat being the Shabbat before Shavuot, we recite the sixthchapter of Pirkei Avot. It speaks about the importance of studying Torah. This chapter of Pirkei Avot prepares us for the holiday of Shavuot.

Shabbat, we bless the new Hebrew month, Sivan. Rosh Chodesh will be Saturday night and Sunday.

Today, the 28th of Iyar is "Yom Yerushalayim" - "Jerusalem day." It commemorates the re-unification of Jerusalem in 1967, when the old city of Jerusalem was returned to its rightful owners, the people of Israel.   Being in Israel during the Six Day War, I have witnessed the great miracles of the Six Day war and the reunification of Jerusalem, in which the Kotel and all the Holy sites were again in Jewish hands.  

Under Jordanian rule Jews had no visiting rights to our Holy places.  They also caused desecration and destruction to many of our holiest places.  After the war, I witnessed the destruction of the Har Hazeitim (Mount of Olives) cemetery, from where tombstones were uprooted and used for building material for Arab homes. Today, thank G-d, we have access to our holiest site - the Kotel HaMaravi (Western Wall), the only surviving remnant of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. 

To this day, almost sixty years later, I can hear the emotional triumphant shouts of the IDF soldiers who announced, “Har Habayit Beyadeinu” – “The Temple mount is in our hands!” May it be in our hands forever!

Sunday, being Rosh Chodesh - the first day of the New Hebrew month, Sivan, we recite the Hallel, read the Torah portion for Rosh Chodesh, and recite the Musaf service.

Sunday, Rosh Chodesh Sivan is a special day. On Rosh Chodesh Sivan, the Jewish people arrived at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. The Torah tells us that on that special day, when the Jewish people came to Mount Sinai, Allthe people were united. There was no rift, no jealousy and no strife between them. They were ALL like one person with ONE heart.

SHABBAT SHALOM

Montreal candle lighting time: 8:00 / Shabbat ends: 9:13