SUNDAY UPDATE: 20 SEPTEMBER 2026
For all our Yamim Nora’im and Chagim davening times click here
Calling all ladies: That Tuesday shiur is on!
We received a message last night that there will be an OU Women’s Division Tuesday shiur this week, contrary to that which was announced yesterday in shul. Apologies for any confusion.
Arba Minim a reminder
As we mentioned last Thursday, the Kupietzky family will again be providing arba minim for our members. Please order and pay in advance (or bring cash on the day), and then you can choose your set this coming Tuesday afternoon at any time between 4.30 and 6.35 pm, when we daven minchah. Details of prices and payment can be found here. If you have any questions, do call Daniella on 054-461-0194, not the shul.
Child decorators sought
Our shul Sukkah is in need of its annual decoration and we require people to do it. No previous experience is required, though applicants who enjoy arts and crafts and like eating pizza are preferred. To sign up your child, grandchild or great-grandchild so that there will be an equilibrium between people and pizzas, phone first. Details here.
Light in the darkness
Do you fancy a moonlit stroll round the streets of Jerusalem with Heshy Engelsberg? If so, here is your golden opportunity: experience the moment and click “Moonlit Stroll” here.
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ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UPDATES: 18 SEPTEMBER 2026
The elevator: Our elevator has been repaired and will be available for use this Shabbat.
Shabbat Shuva drasha: Following Mincha at 6.00 pm tomorrow, Rabbi Kenigsberg will deliver his Shabbat Shuva drasha: it’s “Who Are We Really? Yom Kippur as an Answer to Chet HaMeraglim”. Please take your seats in time for the drasha to begin.
Shiva davening times for Elaine Blatman a.h.: There will be a minyan for Ma’ariv at 7.45 pm on motzaei Shabbat. Then, on Sunday morning, Selichot followed by Shacharit will commence at 7.00 am.
Minchah on Erev Yom Kippur: there is just one Minchah on Sunday, and that is at the early time of 1.30 pm.
Children’s service: There will not be a children’s service on Yom Kippur.
Shacharit next week: On Tuesday, Shacharit will be at 7.10 am. From Wednesday it will revert to the usual time of 7.15 am.
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FRIDAY UPDATE: 18 SEPTEMBER 2026
For all our Yamim Nora’im and Chagim davening times click here
Sukkah decorating for kids!
Calling anyone with spare kids/grandkids etc next week: Do they get under your feet all the time? Are they bored and fractious because they miss school? Are they looking for fun? If so, we have just the solution: send them to Rabbi Kenigsberg on Wednesday morning, when they will be empowered to decorate the shul sukkah while simultaneously eating pizza. There’s no charge—just phone first so that the Rav knows how many pizzas to order. Details are here.
Intrusive cell phone users: here’s an offer you can’t resist
Right now we don’t have a sponsor for this week’s kiddush. But, with Yom Kippur just around the corner, here’s a golden opportunity for anyone—and that’s a lot of people—who forgot to mute their cell phones during midweek davening and treated us to a panoply of unsolicited rings, pings and dings. To these dear friends we say this: there’s no practical way you can seek forgiveness from everyone whose davening you’ve disturbed—but there is something you can do. Step up and donate a minimum of 100 NIS towards the cost of the kiddush. We will reckon you as a co-sponsor and you can regard it as a kapparah. To pledge your contribution, email bkhanassi@gmail.com with the subject line “Kapparah”. The anonymity of donors will be respected. Thanks!
This Shabbat
- Our elevator is once again fully operational and will be available for use in Shabbat mode. Thank you M & M (that’s Mark Zohar and Menachem Rosenblum) for steering the repair project through to its successful conclusion.
- Rabbi Kenigsberg’s devar Torah for Shabbat Shuva is available on The Hanassi Blog in English and, with continued gratitude to ChatGPT, in Hebrew..
- Reviewing Rabbi Wein zt’l’s take on the opening words of Parashat Ha’azinu, Rabbi Kenigsberg uses last night’s mini-shiur to remind us of the different types of listening and the contrast between merely hearing and listening attentively. To hearken unto his words, click here.
- Tomorrow afternoon after Minchah Rabbi Kenigsberg delivers this year’s Shabbat Shuva Drasha: it’s “Who Are We Really? Yom Kippur as an Answer to Chet HaMeraglim”. Everyone is welcome! For those with a taste for nostalgia, we’ve found in our archives a Shabbat Shuva drasha that was given on a Thursday evening. It’s from Rabbi Wein zt’l during the Coronavirus era, here.
Name the man, place the face!
The latest in our series of photo-portraits of Hanassi members features a gentleman who is always early to shul on Shabbat morning and who has his own highly individualistic style in his choice of headgear. To find out who he is, click here. To check out all the names-and-faces we have featured so far in our little gallery, click here.
More on the Megillah
Yesterday’s Gemara Zoom shiur by Rabbi Kenigsberg returned to the idea that Megillat Esther can be read on so many different dates in Adar, with two distinguished Amoraim testing how the text of the megillah might itself offer a clue. The shiur is now available on our YouTube channel, here.
Incidentally, devotees of our Zoom shiur are to make a siyum on the completion of masechet Beitza on Tuesday 6 October. This siyum will not be on Zoom: it will be a genuine in-person event—with a live guest speaker. Details will be shared once we have them.
Shiva information
The shivas for Elaine Blatman a.h. and Sybil Shapiro a.h. continue after Shabbat, but not for very long. For details click below:
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THURSDAY UPDATE: 17 SEPTEMBER 2026
For all our Yamim Nora’im and Chagim davening times click here
Shivas at Beit Knesset Hanassi
We currently have two shul members sitting shiva. Yisrael Blatman has returned to Jerusalem and is sitting shiva for his mother Elaine a.h. with effect from today, and Alan Shapiro returns to Jerusalem tomorrow to continue the shiva for his mother Sybil a.h. Both shivas terminate before Yom Kippur. You can access the respective shiva arrangements here:
Kavanah: who needs it? And what should we do if we don’t have it?
These are among the questions Rabbi Kenigsberg raised in his mini-shiur on She’arim baTefillah last night, along with how to handle all those repetitions. Want to know more? Click here.
?עסקים כרגיל
Rabbi Kenigsberg’s piece for Shabbat Shuvah is published in English today in our Hanassi Highlights, but why wait for it when you have the opportunity to test the quality of your Ivrit by reading the Hebrew version that has been kindly provided by ChatGPT? You will find the Hebrew version here.
Arba Minim sales
The Kupietzky family will again be providing arba minim for our members this year. You will have to order and pay in advance, and then you can choose your set next Tuesday afternoon at any time between 4.30 and 6.35 pm, when we daven minchah. Details of prices and payment can be found here. If you have any questions, do call Daniella on 054-461-0194, not the shul.
Purim: our five-day festival?
Not quite, but the first mishnah of masechet Megillah teaches that we can read Megillat Esther on any one of five consecutive days, depending on who and where we are. To find out more, listen to Rabbi Kenigsberg’s first shiur in our twice-weekly Gemara Zoom shiur, here. We post a link to the second shiur tomorrow.
Our Shabbat Shuva drasha this year
Rabbi Kenigsberg has revealed the title of this year’s Shabbat Shuva Drasha: it’s “Who Are We Really? Yom Kippur as an Answer to Chet HaMeraglim”. Do join us for the drasha. Bring your friends so that they too can experience the power of our rabbi’s words.
Happy events seek kindly sponsors
There are a number of events coming up, as in previous years, some of which afford delightful bargain-basement sponsorship opportunities or the amateur philanthropist.
Kids’ Sukkah decorating and pizza activity
This will take place at the shul sukkah next Wednesday and will involve feeding pizza to up to 20 children
Hoshana Rabbah: Nocturnal Learning program l'iluy Nishmat Rabbi Wein zt"l
The full learning schedule will be published shortly, offering learning from 8 till late. We hope to offer running refreshments in the Sukkah.
Farewell to the Sukkah
We say our fond farewell to the shul Sukkah and reflect on the past week over a morsel of mezonot and a drop to drink.
Ne'ilat HaChag
Since the day in question is Shabbat, this is also Seudah Shelishit. After all the eating we’ve done over the past week, this will not be a lavish affair, but there will be rolls so that those who wish to can wash and make Hamotzi. See our flyer here. Become our sponsor and we’ll add your dedication.
If the fancy seizes you and you would like to sponsor any of these events, please contact Jeremy Phillips on 053-845-5367 (phone or WhatsApp) or email him on jjip398@gmail.com.
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WEDNESDAY UPDATE 16 SEPTEMBER 2026
For all our Yamim Nora’im and Chagim davening times click here
Today we began our new Masechet
This morning Rabbi Kenigsberg launched us beyond the first mishnah of Masechet Megillah and into the opening passages of the Gemara itself. The topic: why can we read Megillat Esther on 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 Adar—and who says so? For more, click here.
Fulfilment of prophecy viewed through the lens of faith
This week Rabbi Paul Bloom shares the perspective of the Ramban and the Malbim on our parashah and reminds us to read its prophecies with faith—and caution, here.
This week’s parashah, set to music
For your delectation we have dug up, from the very depths of our archives, a dramatic musical interpretation of the song of Ha’azinu, composed and played by Max Stern. It’s a work that positively brims with solemnity, fear and hope. Click here to listen and form your own opinion.
An Ulpan at Hanassi: a follow-up
Last week we announced that our Vice-President Menachem Marcus has approached Ulpan La-Inyan regarding the possibility of starting an Ulpan in our shul. Enrolment would cost around 2,600 NIS per person (and there’s a good chance that it would cost nothing for anyone who made Aliyah less than 10 years ago). This would get us two 90-minute sessions a week for 12 weeks. Ulpan La-Inyan, who may be able to run two Ulpanim at different levels, are willing to give a free demonstration class, to see what level everyone is, one day before the ulpanim begin. So far we have received several expressions of interest from members, but not quite enough to make the project viable. If you are interested in signing up, can you please email Menachem at rmarcusmd@gmail.com (note the ‘r’ before the ‘marcusmd’) and tell him so. Thsnks!
Can you use a defibrillator?
We have defibrillators in shul, both upstairs and downstairs—but we don’t have is a handy list of members who know how to use them. If you have been properly trained to use a defibrillator (and still remember what to do!), please message us at bkhanassi@gmail.com and let us know.
Starting tomorrow morning: shiva arrangements
Our dear member Yisrael Blatman returns from Toronto tonight and will conclude his shiva at home in Jerusalem, effective first thing tomorrow morning—starting at 6.45 am with selichot followed by Shacharit. Davening and visiting times are variable, on account of the time of year, but you can check them all here.
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TUESDAY UPDATE: 15 SEPTEMBER 2026
For all our Yamim Nora’im and Chagim davening times click here
Brought to book
In yesterday’s special shiur on Yom Kippur, replacing the usual Tzurba shiur on hilchot Shabbat, Rabbi Kenigsberg asked some very penetrating questions about teshuvah and how we assess our eligibility to be inscribed in one of Rabbi Kruspedai’s notorious Three Books. It’s worth asking yourself the same questions, which you can do so if you follow the shiur here. By the way, we apologize to anyone who tried to join the shiur on Zoom. The connection was unstable and we couldn’t get it to work.
How to avoid the sweetest of pleasures
Rabbi Kenigsberg’s mini-shiur last night returned to a familiar source, the Mesillat Yesharim, but touched on (inter alia) the care we must take not to indulge ourselves in the delights of grudge-bearing and the taking of sweet revenge. To set yet more hard work for your yetzer tov, click here.
Not the Temple we’ve been waiting for
Forsaking the Great Outdoors and the beautiful scenery that he has shown us on so many occasions, Heshy Engelsberg digs deep into the psyche of a very different Israel: the hallowed halls of Osher Ad. If you have never been there, and have oft wondered whether it’s just another supermarket, let Heshy show you the way in “Osher Ad—The Jewish Costco”, here.
Reminder: this week’s parashah shiur
Despite this being a very busy week in the life of Klal Yisrael, both physically and spiritually, Rabbi Eitiel Goldwicht will be giving his usual shiur to honor the memory of Rabbi Wein zt’l this coming Thursday morning at 10.15 am.
Great shakes!
Members have been asking if we will be providing a facility for the purchase of Arba Minim this year. The answer is “yes”, our vendors will be the Kupietzkys (who provided such beautiful sets last year) and details will be shared as soon as they have been fixed.
Feed a hungry yeshivah bochur from chutz la’Aretz?
Aish (formerly Aish HaTorah) is looking for hosts for second day Yom Tov meals (i.e. Motzaei Shabbat and Sunday lunch) for their students. If you are a “second-dayer” and would like to offer hospitality, contact Zach Berzon at 053-472-5263.
A child’s lament
Little boy Shmuel
Sat down in the shul,
Holding an empty plate:
“I’d love to eat kugel
But things are so frugal
‘Cos we have no sponsor to date”.
Yes, you’ve guessed it. We have no sponsors for kiddush this week. If you’d like to avail yourself of the opportunity, call Ronny Wachtel on 050-440-3214 and bring a smile to Little Boy Shmuel’s face.
