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Chabad of Port Washington Email: [email protected] Voice: 516-767-8672 www.ChabadPW.org
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Are you planning to attend the Menorah Lighting?
I know chances are it'll be a bitter cold night. Odds are you'd much rather cozy up around your Menorah in the comfort of your home.
But that's what Chanukah is all about: bringing warmth and illumination to dark, cold places; defying the odds.
While MILLIONS around the world will be joining their community Menorah lightings, help us illuminate our own beloved town of Port Washington. Defy the odds, bundle up, and join us for a quick but meaningful celebration of light. Tuesday, 6 PM, LIRR. Then you'll go home to enjoy your cozy family Menorah lighting.
May Al-Mighty G‑d bless you, especially in those areas of your life which can use a little extra warmth and light...
If anyone can defy odds, it's the One Above. At Chanukah, the season of miracles, prepare to expect the unexpected.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah.
Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel
P.S. I take this opportunity to wish a hearty Mazel Tov, on behalf of all of us at Chabad, to our Founding Board Member Dr. Martin Brownstein upon his marriage this weekend to Dr. Shirley Papilsky of Great Neck.
Dr. Brownstein will be called to the Torah for his "Ufruf" (customary Aliya the Shabbat prior to ones wedding) tomorrow at the Young Israel of Great Neck. In honor of the occasion, I will be bringing Brownstein's personal Torah, commissioned by him 12 years ago, to the Great Neck Shul so that he can receive his Aliya in this special Torah.
On the Torah's mantel is embroidered the name of Dr. Brownstein's father Samuel C. Brownstein (Shmuel Zisa ben Chona Yehuda obm) in whose memory this Torah was dedicated. Also embroidered is the date of Sam's yahrzeit: Kislev 21. Tomorrow's Hebrew date when the ufruf will take place: Kislev 21.
Bashert? I think so!
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Dennis Prager on Chabad
Dennis Prager shares his thoughts on happiness and Chabad at the 18th Anniversary Dinner of the Chai Center of Dix Hills, NY.
Click here to watch.
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Just a note to say "thank you" to the most generous and gracious congregation. To all the people who shopped, prepared and served the food for Zelik's Kiddush, thank you. To our friends who cleaned up, we also thank you.
A special thank you to Yossi who chanted the Musaf Prayer. Zelik was right beside you enjoying every minute. And, another special thank you to all of Zelik's friends who came out especially to remember him and share memories.
We have some additional money left over, and we will use it at an appropriate time in the future to make another Kiddush to remember our dear friend, Zelik.
Shabbat Shalom,
- Ellen
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Hebrew School Family Shabbat
Shabbat, Dec 17 | 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Hebrew School students and families will join once a month for Hebrew School Family Shabbat, Junior congregation. An interactive service with singing, stories, lessons and participation, as well as meaningful and fun activities and discussions.
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Chanukah with Chabad | December 20-28
Our Chanukah minisite is up and running.
Click here to register for Chanukah Wonderland, get more info on our public menorah lighting and all your Chanukah needs. |
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Jewish Girls Winter Retreat
December 22-26, Chanukah 5772 | Lake George, NY
Inviting all Jewish girls ages 8-15 to the winter weekend retreat. Enjoy exciting trips, awesome clubs, activities and lots more.
Click here for more info and to register. |
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Monthly Parenting Class | At Chabad
Wednesday, January 4 | 10:45 AM
Monthly parenting class lead by Sara Paltiel of Chabad Port Washington.
Click here for more info. Please RSVP by calling the office 516 767 8672.
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Shooting Stars Soccer
January 4th - February 25th | $149 for 7 weeks
Soccer Lessons for children ages 18 months to 6 years old at Chabad of Port Washington's gym.
Click here for more info and schedule. |
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What is Chassidus?
After his liberation from Czarist prison on the 19th of Kislev, 1798, the Alter Rebbe recounted that the souls of his masters, the Baal Shem Tov and Maggid of Mezritch, had visited him in prison, explaining that his ordeal on earth was the result of a decree against him in Heaven above.
Click here to watch a 10-minute clip.
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G‑d's Feminine Side
By: Rabbi Aron Moss | Sydney, Australia
Question: I am always fascinated by gender roles in Judaism. Why is it that women are the ones to light Shabbos candles?
Answer: Male and female down here on earth are a reflection of male and female up there in heaven. Just as humans come in two forms, so too G‑d, in whose image we were created, has two ways to interact with the world. G‑d is of course one, but G‑d's presence expresses itself in two distinct ways, male and female.
During the working week, the divine male energy dominates. On Shabbos, the divine feminine element emerges.
The working week is a time of tension, when the demands of a material existence encroach on our spiritual life. And so it is the male aspect of the divine, an energy that is competitive and forceful, that is needed to face the challenges of the mundane week.
Shabbos is when we step out of the material world and enjoy a more peaceful existence. Here is where the feminine divine side takes over, an energy that is nurturing and tranquil, soothing and at peace with the world.
The human soul is described as the candle of G‑d, for the soul was sent to this world to bring light. On Friday evening, the Shechina - the feminine aspect of the divine - descends to light up our souls and give them the light and warmth they need to illuminate the world in the coming week.
The light of our soul may have dimmed during the week, when the pull of materialism clouds our spiritual flame. But the arrival of Shabbos brings us an increased energy and brightness. Our souls vibrate on a higher frequency on Friday nights, we are more alive and spiritually open, thanks to the closeness of the Shechina, G‑d's feminine presence.
When a woman lights Shabbos candles, she is emulating the Shechina. Just as she lights her candles, so the Shechina is lighting her candles, the souls of Israel. And so, the Zohar says, a woman should light candles with joy and deep intention, for at that moment she reflects her divine source, and she too lights up the world.
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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, Dec 16
4:10 pm
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| Shabbat Ends: |
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Shabbat, Dec 17
5:14 pm
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Daily Thought
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Business Transformation
When your G‑dly soul came to this world and invested itself within this human form, it did not come for its own transformation.
It came to transform that human form and uplift its portion of the world, so that they too should reveal the G‑dliness they contain.
When does that transformation occur? When you meet your own humanness on its own ground, and from within.
Meditation and prayer is then a time to channel your most human emotions towards a sense of wonder and love for G‑d.
Yet, even then, you have not yet met your humanness on its own ground . You have met it on the ground of a G‑dly soul.
When, after your meditation and prayer, you eat your breakfast like a human being is meant to eat-a step higher than the food you consume, raising it up rather than letting it pull you down-then, yes, you have met your own humanness on its own ground. The transformation is yet deeper, yet more genuine. But you have climbed above it; you have not worked within it.
When you go out into the world of other human beings and you work with them to provide them goods and services of value, and you keep every promise you make, providing the best to them that you can . . .
. . . then you are there, within the human world, yet acting G‑dly. Then you have effected transformation from within.
And that is why the very first question asked of the soul when it returns from its mission in this world is, "Did you buy and sell with integrity?"
-based on the Rebbe's discourse on the verse "He has rescued my soul in peace," 5739
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| Weekly Focus |
 Why Is Jewishness Matrilineal?
Why doesn't the father's Jewishness count?
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| Warming up for Chanukah |
 Do-It-Yourself Menorah (video)
Simple-to-follow instructions on how to do the mitzvah of lighting the menorah on Chanukah.
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| 19 Kislev: A Chassidic Beginning |
 19 Kislev
The "birth" of Chassidism: the day it was allowed to emerge from the womb of mysticism into the light of day, to grow and develop as an integral part of Torah and Jewish life.
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| Reaching Inward and Outward |
 Raising a Child with ADHD
On her forehead there is an invisible label which reads: "ADHD."
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| AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND |
 Australian Parliamentarians Celebrate Chanukah Before Recess
Among their last acts before their scheduled winter break, legislators in the Parliament of New South Wales hosted a public Chanukah menorah lighting ceremony with leaders from the Jewish Board of Deputies and Rabbi Pinchus Feldman of Sydney's Yeshiva Centre.
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| NORTH AMERICA |
 Surrounded by Wilderness, Wyoming Jews Need Ritual Bath
For most women, heading to the mikvah - the ritual bath that lies at the heart of Jewish family purity laws - does not involve surprise encounters with wild animals, traipsing through three-feet of snow or hacking through a frozen river in subzero temperatures to reach flowing water.
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| PHOTO GALLERY |
 Newest Army Chaplain Takes Oath of Office
Wearing military dress and sporting a full beard, Rabbi Menachem Stern made history Friday when he was officially sworn-in to the U.S. Army as an officer in its chaplain corps.
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| EUROPE |
 London Lubavitch Senior Girls School Wins State Aid
By meeting criteria established by the Hackney London Borough Council, the Lubavitch Senior Girls School won official recognition as a state-supported educational institution.
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Parshat Vayeishev
Jacob settles in Hebron with his twelve sons. His favorite is seventeen-year-old Joseph, whose brothers are jealous of the preferential treatment he receives from his father, such as a precious many-colored coat that Jacob makes for Joseph. Joseph relates to his brothers two dreams of his which foretell that he is destined to rule over them, increasing their envy and hatred towards him.
Simeon and Levi plot to kill him, but Reuben suggests that they throw him into a pit instead, intending to come back later and save him. While Joseph is in the pit, Judah has him sold to a band of passing Ishmaelites. The brothers dip Joseph's special coat in the blood of a goat and show it to their father, leading him to believe that his most beloved son was devoured by a wild beast.
Judah marries and has three children. The eldest, Er, dies young and childless, and his wife Tamar is given in levirate marriage to the second son, Onan. Onan sins by spilling his seed and he, too, meets an early death. Judah is reluctant to have his third son marry her. Determined to have a child from Judah's family, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute and seduces Judah himself. Judah hears that his daughter-in-law has become pregnant and orders her executed for harlotry, but when Tamar produces some personal effects he left with her as a pledge for payment, he publicly admits that he is the father. Tamar gives birth to twin sons, Peretz (an ancestor of King David) and Zerach.
read more>>
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