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The Hebrew month of Tishrei, with its smorgasbord of holidays including Days of Awe and joyous festivals, is often referred to as the "head of the year." (In fact, that's precisely what "Rosh Hashanah" means).
Now, let's be honest; for many of us it's more headache then head. You got to get your tickets, sit through hours of services, and attempt to stay awake during long, drawn out sermons. Add to it the Jewish guilt that this season evokes... Add it all up, it's one big headache!
The good thing about a headache: you know for sure you have a head.
If you're experiencing some of that good 'ole Jewish guilt, you must be Jewish! And the High Holidays must in fact mean something to you.
So, dear friend, now that you know that I fully understand and sympathize, may I suggest a slight shift in attitude:
- Prepare to be an active participant in the holidays by reading up on the prayers, customs and meanings (there's plenty of info at your fingertips at chabadpw.org).- Utilize the High Holidays for prayer, introspection and good resolutions. Observe their customs and laws to the best of your ability.
- When Sukkot arrives, set yourself up with a Sukkah and Lulav set so you and your family can fully experience the festival.
- Most importantly, promise yourself to enjoy the holidays (after all, there's nothing quite like a good snooze in a comfortable cushioned pew...) They are designed to allow us opportunity to renew, recharge and refresh; to realign ourselves mentally, spiritually and Jewishly, so that the year that comes finds us more focused on what matters most, while not sweating the less important stuff.
As I always tell congregants at the start of a long Bar Mitzvah or Holiday service: We're gonna have to sit through this anyway; we might as well enjoy the ride!
Shabbat Shalom & Shana Tova,
Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel
P.S. Click the Rebbe video below and the links related to it, and find out how inspirational and uplifting this month can and should be.
P.P.S. Do you know a friend who needs a place for the holidays, or would enjoy a dose of Chabad House? Why not invite them to join you and sit near you during the service. (Bearded rabbis in long black coats can be quite traumatic to the uninitiated...) You never know, they may end up enjoying the services and thank you for it. Could happen. |
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We at Chabad of Port Washington are celebrating our 20th anniversary this year. In honor of this special milestone we have set a goal of growing our Shul to 180 member families. We began the campaign with 160 families. So far 6 new families have joined, so we're at 166, 14 away from reaching our goal!
We welcome new members:
Dr. Paul Beck
Barry & Donna Jason
Andy &Julie Kramer
Alex & Edie Rothschild
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Edith Schneider
Robert & Dawn Tennenbaum
Michael & Tracy Winters
Isaac & Vardit Youssefia
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Chabad's doors are open to all, member and non-member alike. Still, we ask you to join to make your Chabad that much stronger! As a "new member" your 1st year's dues would be discounted 50%. Your dues can be paid out throughout the year at your convenience. If you can't afford the full fee, please email [email protected] and the rabbi will be happy to accommodate you with a confidential discounted membership. In honor of the New Year, we ask that you strongly consider joining. Help us reach our goal of 180 families. We want YOUR family to become part of OUR family.
Chabad of Port Washington wishes you a Shana Tova, a happy and healthy New Year to you and yours. We look forward to seeing you at Chabad (member or not...)
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Knesset Members visit Rebbe's gravesite for prayers in light of the PA statehood bid at the UN this week.
A delegation of Israelis led by MK Danny Danon pray at the Ohel, the burial site of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, before PA's statehood bid.
Click here to read more.
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Reb Zelik Sander Memorial Service
Sunday, September 25 |5:00 - 7:00 PM
At Chabad of Port Washington
Please join us for a memorial service honoring Reb Zelik Sander. Memorial Service will include Mincha and Maariv services and presentations by some of the young people in our community. Thank you Abie for organizing this event.
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High Holidays with Chabad
Rosh Hashana, September 28-30
Yom Kippur, October 7-8
Join Chabad of Port Washington for a meaningful and uplifting High Holidays service. All High Holiday Services will take place at the Chabad of Port Washington located at 80 Shore Road, Port Washington, NY 11050.
Click here for full High Holiday schedule and more info.
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Sukkot with Chabad | October 12-21
Join Chabad of Port Washington for Holiday services, dinner in the Sukkah, Sukkot family fun day and lots more.
Click here for more details and to RSVP.
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Mommy & Me with Yoga
Mondays | 9:45 -10:45 am
Michelle Lublin, of Om Sweet Om together with Sara Paltiel, director of Chabad of Port Washington, invite you to to join us for a spectacular Mommy and Me with Yoga. Yoga, Music & Movement in a Preschool setting.
Click here for more info and to register online.
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NEW JLI - Fascinating Facts: Exploring the Myths and Mysteries of Judaism
Does Judaism believe in guardian angels? Why do Jews use matchmakers? Who wrote the handwriting on the wall? A fun course in Jewish cultural literacy, full of surprising facts, myths, and mysteries surrounding Jewish tradition and practice.
Begins Sunday, November 6 |10-11:30 AM
At Chabad of Port Washington, 80 Shore Road, PW
Click here for more info and to register online.
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High Holidays with the Rebbe
Join us as we spend the "head" and nerve center of the Jewish year with the Rebbe.
Click here to watch a 3-minute clip.
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Heads or Tails?
By: Rabbi Aron Moss | Sydney, AU
Question: I read somewhere that there is a custom to eat the head of a fish on the night of Rosh Hashana, to symbolise that in the coming year "we should be the head and not the tail." What does this actually mean? I can't make head or tails of it... (sorry...)
CONTINUE >>
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| B"H |
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Board of Directors
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Adam Katz, Esq., President
Frank Arnold
Bert Brodsky
Martin H. Brownstein, M.D.
Howard Fensterman, Esq.
M. Allan Hyman, Esq.
Sara E. Paltiel
Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel
Alan Rosenzweig
Alan Salzbank
Michael Samuel
Felix Sater
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Shabbat Times
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| Shabbat Candle Lighting: |
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Friday, Sep 23
6:34 pm
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| Shabbat Ends: |
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Shabbat, Sep 24
7:31 pm
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BIRTHDAYS
Mr. Gary Berkowitz 9/25
Roee Greener 9/25
Bradford Bernstein 9/27
Lisa Firestone 9/28
Jacob Nissan 9/29
Mira Bernstein 9/30
Rayna Aja Hovanec 10/1
Mr. Bert E. Brodsky 10/2
Alex Shuris 10/2
Sandra Neuwirth 10/3
Gerald Stern 10/4
ANNIVERSARY
David & Stephanie Rahmanan 10/4
YARTZEITS
Giller Itkin,
9/24/2011 | Elul 25, 5771
observed by Michael Itkin
& Anna Orlov
Mae Lepselter (Miriam bas Moshe),
9/24/2011 | Elul 25, 5771
observed by Carol Arnold
& Bill Ostrower
Irving Spatz (Ozer),
9/24/2011 | Elul 25, 5771
observed by Robert & Bilha Spatz
Dr. Robert & Bilha Spatz
Florence Krzyzanowski
(Feygel bas Yisroel Hirsch),
9/27/2011 | Elul 28, 5771
observed by Geoffrey & Karen Gordon
Dr. Geoff Gordon
Abraham Becker (Avraham),
9/28/2011 | Elul 29, 5771
observed by Phil & Jacqueline Becker
Phil & Jackie Becker
Bryan Elan Sandman,
10/1/2011 | Tishrei 3, 5772
observed by Alan & Linda Sandman
Alan & Linda Sandman
Jack Feder (Yaakov ben Aharon),
10/2/2011 | Tishrei 4, 5772
observed by Bart & Dorothy Waxman
Dorothy & Bart Waxman
Harry Davis,
10/5/2011 | Tishrei 7, 5772
observed by Hersh & Fern Cohen
Hersh & Fern Cohen
*CLICK HERE to convert any regular calendar date, birthday or Yartzeit to its corresponding Jewish-calendar date!
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Daily Thought
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Life in Words
Plants live in a world of earth, water, air and sunshine. Animals live in a world of the body and its senses. Human beings live within a world of their own words.
The sages called us "the speaking being," saying that our soul is filled with words. When our words leave us, our very being goes out within them. We conquer with them. We declare our mastery over Creation with them. Our words tell us that we exist.
For us, nothing truly exists until we find a word for it. All our thoughts of every object and every event are thoughts of words. Our world is a world not of sensations and stimuli, but of words.
Build your world with precious words. Fill your days with words that live and give life.
Memorize words of Torah and of the sages. Have them ready for any break in your day. Wherever you go, provide that place an atmosphere of those powerful words.
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* PATRONIZE OUR SPONSORS *
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| Chabad Chassidism |
 Plugged Back In
The question was no longer how a perfect Creator could be involved in His imperfect world, but how could He not be?
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| Revving Up for Rosh Hashanah |
 Why No Wild Party on Rosh Hashanah?
Why do we take our New Year's Day so seriously? What's this whole judgment deal? Why all the prayers? Can't we just party?
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| Selichot |
 Selichot
Several days before Rosh Hashanah we begin to recite the Selichot, a series of penitential prayers and liturgy.
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| Royalty |
 Solace & Sovereignty (Video)
The joyous climax of all divine comfort-the revelation of G‑d's sovereignty in this world.
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Chabad-Lubavitch News from Around the World |
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| HOLIDAY WATCH |
 Jewish Backpackers Find Homes Away From Home During Holiday Season
For the droves of adventurous Israelis backpacking their way around the world this High Holiday season - many of them young soldiers straight out of the army - Chabad-Luvabitch centers in such far flung tourist havens as Bangkok and San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina, provide not only prayer services and a hot kosher meal, but also a warm, nurturing and spirited home away from home.
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| CAMPUS LIFE |
 Chabad at Yale Breaks Ground on New Home
Chabad at Yale kicked off its multi-million dollar renovation project with a groundbreaking ceremony at the future home of the new Bender Chabad House and Berger Family Building.
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| CARIBBEAN |
 Far-Flung Communities Anticipate High Holidays in Caribbean
Warm balmy winds won't be the only thing wafting across the Caribbean this High Holiday season, with 10 island communities - including S. Thomas, Grenada, and the Bahamas - celebrating the Jewish New Year with deeply moving prayer services, delicious kosher food and plenty of invigorating and uplifting spirit.
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| HOLIDAY WATCH |
 As Economic Uncertainty Grows, Pay to Pray a Thing of the Past
Michelle Feigen can't wait to hear the shofar. Every Rosh Hashanah, the familiar blasts from the ram's horn send her zooming back through time to her childhood, when the kids would gather in the back of the synagogue to hear the horn kick off another year of possibility.
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Parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech
The Parshah of Nitzavim includes some of the most fundamental principles of the Jewish faith:
The unity of Israel: "You stand today, all of you, before the L-rd your G‑d: your heads, your tribes, your elders, your officers, and every Israelite man; your young ones, your wives, the stranger in your gate; from your wood-hewer to your water-drawer."
The future redemption: Moses warns of the exile and desolation of the Land that will result if Israel abandons G‑d's laws, but then he prophesies that in the end, "You will return to the L-rd your G‑d . . . If your outcasts shall be at the ends of the heavens, from there will the L-rd your G‑d gather you . . . and bring you into the Land which your fathers have possessed."
The practicality of Torah: "For the mitzvah which I command you this day, it is not beyond you, nor is it remote from you. It is not in heaven . . . It is not across the sea... Rather, it is very close to you, in your mouth, in your heart, that you may do it."
Freedom of choice: "I have set before you life and goodness, and death and evil: in that I command you this day to love G‑d, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments... Life and death I have set before you, blessing and curse. And you shall choose life."
more...
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