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Chabad of Port Washington Email: rabbi@chabadpw.org Voice: 516-767-8672 www.ChabadPW.org
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Chanukah is upon us! The menorah's tiny flame flickering in the darkness symbolizes the victory of light over darkness; that at the end of the day good will prevail, because G‑d is on the side of good!
In our own wonderful town of Port Washington, Chanukah was ushered in with the true spirit of the day. Being blessed with good weather, more than 500 people came out to the Grand Menorah Lighting event on Tuesday. The event was chaired by Port Washington's favorite sportscaster Len Berman. Community leaders were on hand and a good time was had by all. Manhasset too had a record 75 people at the lighting in the Town Park across Town Hall, filled with the pioneering spirit of the Macabees, led by Dr. Passes, President of Manhasset's Chamber of Commerce.
Please help us continue the Chanukah festivities by joining us this Sunday, December 25, 1pm at Chabad for "CHANUKAH WONDERLAND" - a Chanukah fair including puppet show, olive oil press, Lego menorah building, crafts, food, Judaica and gifts. Click above to purchase tickets in advance at 50% off the price at the door. We look forward to an exciting event. Thank you Rabbi Weinberg!
I'm sure I have no need to remind you how important it is that you light your own Chanukah candles each night of Chanukah. The instructions and blessings are just a click away on this email. Don't miss a night! These eight continuous days of increased light from day to day bring with them blessings for the entire year to unfold in a similar fashion.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Chanukah.
Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel
P.S. Have you made your Year-End gift to Chabad? We need your help. Give us a hand. Click here to make a secure online gift.
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Chabad's Chanukah Celebration Lights Up The Night
The first of eight candles was lit at sundown on Tuesday by Jews around the world.
Click here to read full article.
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500 people attended Grand Menorah Lighting on Tuesday, Dec 20th.
Click here for more photos.
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Chanukah Wonderland
Sunday, Dec 25 | 1:00 - 3:30 PM
Don't miss out on Chanukah fun for the whole family at Chabad's New Gym. Amazing Chanukah puppet show, Giant lego Menorah building, olive oil workshop and lots more.
Click here for more info and to RSVP. |
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Men's Basketball Night for Chabad Members
Wednesdays at 7:30 - 8:30 PM
Contact Dr. Glen Ruben at: grsmiles@hotmail.com - 516 729 8571. Click here for more info. |
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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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NEW Upcoming JLI Course
Money Matters: Jewish Business Ethics
Is Judaism socialist or capitalist? Who is responsible for preventing poverty? Is unionization a Jewish ideal? Must Walmart pay its workers a livable wage? Where would you draw the line? An ethical, Talmudic, and legal debate on the economic issues of our time.
6 Sundays, Beginning Jan 22 | 10 11:30 AM
At Chabad of Port Washington
Click here for more info and to register online.
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A Brilliant Victory
Chanukah celebrates the Jews' battle for G‑d's Torah to prevail. But the mitzvah which they established to immortalize their triumph-the kindling of the Chanukah menorah-sheds light on the true nature of "Jewish victory."
Click here to watch a 6-minute clip.
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My Grandfather was a Rabbi...
By: Rabbi Aron Moss | Sydney, Australia
Question: I fear for the future of the Jewish people. When I look at my family and where they are headed it is not very promising. My grandfather was a rabbi, but I am not sure my grandchildren will even be Jewish. What is the secret to keeping Judaism alive?
Answer: I have yet to meet a Jew who doesn't proudly claim, "My grandfather was a rabbi." It seems that three generations ago everyone was a rabbi.
What they really mean is that their grandfather was an observant Jew. He probably had a beard, prayed every day, and was knowledgeable in Torah. He may have been a cobbler or merchant or baker, not a rabbi, but he was a committed Jew.
Anyone who identifies as Jewish today only need go back three or four generations to find observant Jews in their family. And from there an unbroken chain of Jewish living that goes back three thousand years. Not that everyone has always been observant. There have always been unobservant Jews. But we don't know their grandchildren. They have been lost to the Jewish community.
Jewishness without Jewish observance cannot last more than a couple of generations. Unless they rebel and turn to Judaism, the children of unobservant Jews will stop being Jewish altogether and assimilate. A family of unobservant Jews will lose one or the other - either the Jewishness, or the unobservance. You can't have both.
This is not a new phenomenon. Throughout Jewish history there have been individuals and groups who tried to keep a Jewish identity without Jewish practice. It has never worked. A vague Jewish ethnic feeling, devoid of any spiritual purpose and with no compelling message that is relevant to life, cannot last long. Only proud and authentic Judaism, that offers relevance and meaning, direction and inspiration, will stand the test of time.
In the times of the Chanukah story, a small band of faithful Jews stood up against the vast majority of Jews who subscribed to Hellenism, the Greek way of life. We celebrate Chanukah today because we descend from the faithful few.
The solution to Jewish continuity is no secret, it's obvious. Living breathing Judaism produces living breathing Jews. Do for your grandchildren what your grandfather did for you - be a living example of what it means to live a vibrant Jewish life. They don't need their grandfather to be a rabbi, but they need him to be a proud and practicing Jew.dominates. On Shabbos, the divine feminine element emerges.
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| B"H |
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Year End Campaign
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Nu?!
Did you make your
year end donation yet?
Click here to donate.
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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 23
4:13 pm
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| Shabbat Ends: |
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Shabbat, Dec 24
5:17 pm
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Community News
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BIRTHDAYS
Alan Karul 12/23
Alexandra Sater 12/23
A.J Rahmanan 12/24
Robert Kessler 12/25
Orly Sherman 12/26
Karen Salzbank 12/27
Jason Hubsher 12/28
ANNIVERSARIES
Mrs. Charney 12/23
Mr. & Mrs. L. Lebovitch 12/29
YARTZEITS
Kar Tung Lee,
12/23/2011 | Kislev 27, 5772
observed by Sharon & Danny Lee
Arnold Clement,
(Reb Aaron Yosef ben Reb Michael)
12/24/2011 | Kislev 28, 5772
observed by Alan & Peggy Klat
Pnina Pulka-Yaron, (Pnina bat Moshe)
12/27/2011 | Tevet 1, 5772
observed by Tami Ruben
Joseph Sandman,
12/27/2011 | Tevet 1, 5772
observed by Alan & Linda Sandman
Pauline Alt, (Pesha bas Aharon)
12/28/2011 | Tevet 2, 5772
observed by Lucille Rabinowitz
Joseph Loinger, (Yosef)
12/28/2011 | Tevet 2, 5772
observed by Alan & Judy Karul
Reizah bas Zev Rothschild 12/28/2011 | Tevet 2, 5772
observed by Alex & Edith Rothschild
*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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Passionate Light
The Infinite Light overflows with passion.
The passion to enter within the finite, to define itself within space and time, to dwell within darkness.
But this is its limitation: It is imprisoned within its Infinitude, for wherever it goes it finds only Itself.
When Infinite Light meets darkness, no darkness is left. As it seeps into space and time, they blur and dissolve. Expose to it the finite cells of the human mind, and all reason surrenders.
So the Infinite Light must first awaken a passion below, commensurate to its passion from Above . A passion of the intellect to know unbounded wisdom, of a created being to embrace its Creator, of darkness to shine. Only once it is awaited with burning desire then can it enter, be welcomed and find peace.
For in the passion itself is G‑d, who is below as above and within all things.
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| Chanukah Toolkit |
 Chanukah Megasite
Chanukah videos, information, articles, stories, games, cards, how-to guides, and much, much more!
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| Chanukah Wisdom |
 A Battle of Ideas: Listening or Seeing
To the ancient Greeks, if something wasn't seeable or understandable, it simply wasn't.
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| Chanukah Fun |
 Jono's Dreidel Song (video)
Jono sings about his favorite Chanukah tradition.
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| Chanukah Stories |
 A US Army Chaplain's Trip to Grenada
Flying across Grenada, I receive instructions from the Pentagon to call Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn . . .
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| FEATURE |
 At 90 Years Old, Michigan Man to Celebrate a Chanukah Bar Mitzvah
Flint, Mich.'s Lee Cronenwalt has lived through the Great Depression, fought in World War II, seen a man walk on the moon, and witnessed the inventions of laptop computers, cell phones, and hybrid-electric cars. This Sunday, he'll experience another historic moment: his own Bar Mitzvah.
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| EUROPE |
 Chanukah Lights Shine at Site of Nazis' Torch-Lit Parade
Jews throughout Germany are getting ready to light their menorahs for the upcoming Chanukah holiday, spreading light in a land that a mere two generations ago was the ultimate symbol of fear and darkness.
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| HOLIDAY WATCH |
 Worldwide Parties Celebrate Eight Nights of Lights
Jordana Raban loves that there are giant holiday symbols standing tall in Basking Ridge, N.J. From the huge Chanukah menorah to what some say is the world's biggest dreidel, it makes her proud to drive by and see it all.
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| FORMER SOVIET UNION |
 New Russian Prison Includes Synagogue
More than two centuries after the release of chassidic leader Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi from a S. Petersburg prison, corrections officers in the Russian metropolis joined Jewish community officials in dedicating a synagogue in the city's newly opened Yablonevka Prison.
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Parshat Mikeitz
Joseph's imprisonment finally ends when Pharaoh dreams of seven fat cows that are swallowed up by seven lean cows, and of seven fat ears of grain swallowed by seven lean ears. Joseph interprets the dreams to mean that seven years of plenty will be followed by seven years of hunger, and advises Pharaoh to store grain during the plentiful years. Pharaoh appoints Joseph governor of Egypt. Joseph marries Asenath, daughter of Potiphar, and they have two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
Famine spreads throughout the region, and food can be obtained only in Egypt. Ten of Joseph's brothers come to Egypt to purchase grain; the youngest, Benjamin, stays home, for Jacob fears for his safety. Joseph recognizes his brothers, but they do not recognize him; he accuses them of being spies, insists that they bring Benjamin to prove that they are who they say they are, and imprisons Simeon as a hostage. Later, they discover that the money they paid for their provisions has been mysteriously returned to them.
Jacob agrees to send Benjamin only after Judah assumes personal and eternal responsibility for him. This time Joseph receives them kindly, releases Simeon, and invites them to an eventful dinner at his home. But then he plants his silver goblet, purportedly imbued with magic powers, in Benjamin's sack. When the brothers set out for home the next morning, they are pursued, searched, and arrested when the goblet is discovered. Joseph offers to set them free and retain only Benjamin as his slave.
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