Chabad of Port Washington
Chabad of Port Washington
Email: [email protected] Voice: 516-767-8672 www.ChabadPW.org
Shavuot Decathlon

A Word from the Rabbi
Rabbi Paltiel

As is by now official news around town, Port Washington's Superintendent of Schools Dr. Geoffrey Gordon will be retiring in July.

Geoff and Karen Gordon have been involved members of our Chabad for the past six years. They are both regulars at Shabbat services, Karen is involved in women's programs, and Geoff has been extremely helpful and supportive of our Chabad in any way that he can. We at Chabad congratulate Dr. Gordon's very successful 10 years of extraordinary leadership in service of our community.

A thought in honor of this milestone:

Dr. Geoffrey & Karen Gordon
 


The Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that Judaism doesn't believe in retirement (how's that for a thought in honor of Geoff's retirement... wait, give me a minute to make my point...) "Man is created to toil." (Job 5:7) We are here on this earth in order to make a difference. Just as food nourishes the body, hard work and making a difference nourish the soul. Rather than an end, retirement should be seen as the beginning of a new stage, a new opportunity to impact the lives of others. We might lighten our workload upon retirement, but not our influence. (Notice: the word for 'graduation' is also 'commencement' - for the end of every stage in life is in truth setting the stage for the next step).

Click here for some thoughts from the Rebbe, Rabbi Schneerson, on retirement.

Dr. and Mrs. Gordon, we congratulate you on this "new beginning" and wish you excellent health, happiness and success in the years ahead.

We are all very proud of you!

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel

P.S. Shavuot Kiddush Needed! We are looking for a kiddush sponsor for the first day of Shavuot (Sunday, May 27). Being that the first day of Shavuot falls out on Sunday we expect a nice crowd of adults and children, so it would be really great to have a nice Kiddush. Please let us know if you are interested to be a sponsor or partial sponsor. (We already have a sponsor for Day 2, thank you!)

Chabad Rabbis Regional Conference
Shluchim
 

Chabad Rabbis Regional Conference to take place in Port Washington

The Regional Conference of Chabad Shluchim/Rabbis for the New York/New England region will take place this Sunday at our Chabad House. More than 150 Chabad rabbis will visit our town and spend the day together, attending workshops and lectures on a variety of subjects, and enjoying a gala banquet.


 
Congratulations!
Sara
 


Karen & Alan Salzbank
Congratulations to Sara Salzbank on her graduation from Columbia University, Magna Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa.

Mazel tov to the proud parents Karen & Alan Salzbank and to brother Zach!

Lots of healthy, successful, yiddisher nachas from both Sara and Zach!

Attention parents of graduates:
Please notify us of your children's graduations so we can recognize them in future newsletters.

 
Calendar of Events

May
20
&
May
24

 

New JLI course

Lesson 3: The Art of Marriage
Sunday, May 20 | 10-11:30 AM -OR-
Thursday, May 24 | 8 - 9:30 PM

Will my Spouse Ever Change? What if only one partner is committed to improving the marriage? This lesson examines the ideal of an expectation-free relationship, and how to value your partner for who they are.

Click here for more info and to RSVP.

May
27

 

Shavuot Decathlon

Shavuot Decathlon
Sunday, May 27 | 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Come to Chabad for the Shavuot Decathlon! There will be a 10 commandments Torah reading, 10 challenge activities for 10 great prizes. Followed by a yummy ice cream sundae bar and a delicious kiddush luncheon for all.

Click here for more info.

June
9

 

Shabbat Sermon

Shabbat Morning, June 9 | 11 AM


Sermon Lecture by Howard Birnbach "The Founding Fathers & the Jews". Services 9:30am, Sermon at 11am followed by Kiddush luncheon.

June
21

 

Anniversary Dinner

21st Anniversary Dinner | Thursday, June 21


Save the date for the annual dinner celebrating our 21st anniversary. The dinner will celebrate the opening of Florence's Israel, the impressive indoor playground built by Dr Martin Brownstein in memory of Florence Brownstein.
Question of the Week
Question of the week
Making Sacrifices for Our Children's Education?
By: Rabbi Aron Moss | Sydney, Australia

Question: I know this sounds petty but I can't stand making lunches for my kids. Every night I am just about to fall into bed exhausted, and just then I remember that I need to make sandwiches. I still do it, but I can't say I do it with love. I guess I feel that much of my life is taken up with mundane things like packing lunchboxes. Must I resign to that fact that my life has boiled down to making tuna sandwiches?

Answer: Making tuna sandwiches is far from mundane. It is a holy activity. With every lunchbox you pack you  are performing a sacred duty, one that dates back to the times of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

In ancient Israel, the Temple in Jerusalem was the focus of Jewish spiritual life. It was the home of G‑d in which the cohanim, the priests, and their assistants the Levites brought sacrifices, burnt incense and spent their days meditating and singing to G‑d.

This priestly tribe lived a life completely dedicated to spirituality. They did not have jobs, did not own property, but rather devoted themselves to studying G‑d's laws and singing His praises. They represented the entire Jewish people before G‑d, and through their service they brought down divine blessing for the entire world. To do this, they had to be well educated in matters of the spirit and totally focused on their mission.

But they had to eat. You can't study and pray for the world all day on an empty stomach. And so the rest of the Israelite nation would provide the material needs of the priestly tribe. People would bring offerings of food and donations of money to the Temple to support the cohanim. It was a reciprocal relationship. In return for the holy service the cohanim provided, their every need was looked after, and they were free to completely focus on their spiritual tasks without having to worry about paying the bills or doing the shopping. The priests brought G‑d's blessing to the people. The people brought them lunch...

CONTINUE>>

 
 
B"H
 
Board of Directors

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


   

Shabbat Times
Candle Lighting Times for
Port Washington, NY
[Based on Zip Code 11050]:
Shabbat Candle Lighting:
Friday, May 18
7:50 pm
Shabbat Ends:
Shabbat, May 19
8:57 pm
Torah Portion: Behar-Bechukotai
 

 
Kiddush Calendar

This week's kiddush is sponsored by Marlene and Gary Kirsh in honor of the Bar Mitzvah of Evan which will be celebrated this Shabbat at Chabad.

Click here to let us know if you'd like to sponsor a kiddush.

 
Community News

CONDOLENCES
Our condolences to Joel Avelarde on the passing of his father last week. The good news is that Joel was able to go home to Guatemala, for the first time in 20 years, and spend 2 days with his father before he died. Joel is now spending some much needed down time with his mother and his family. We wish him the best and only simchos in the future.


Joel Avelarde

You can email condolences to: [email protected] (although I'm not certain how often he sees his emails while in Guatemala).


BIRTHDAYS

Mark Lebovitch 5/21
Harrison Firestone 5/22
Laura Kobrinsky 5/22
Dr. Robin Ehrenpreis 5/23
Samuel Litvak 5/23
Sara Salzbank 5/24

YARTZEITS

Ben Cohen,
5/21/2012 | Iyar 29, 5772
observed by:

Hersh & Fern Cohen

Larry Russell, (Label ben David)
5/22/2012 | Sivan 1, 5772
observed by: Barbara Russell

Barbara Russell with beloved daughter Blakely, of blessed memory

Herbert Gould,
5/24/2012 | Sivan 3, 5772
observed by:

Alan & Linda Sandman


and Anita Baskin

* CLICK HERE to convert any regular calendar date, birthday or Yartzeit to its corresponding Jewish-calendar date!
 

 
Daily Thought
Seeding Change

Just as a tiny seed awakens the infinite power of life hidden within the earth, so an act of caring and giving buried quietly in the ground can ignite an explosion of infinite light. Charged with that power, all the world is changed.


 
Schedule of Services

Sunday Morning

Services: 9:00 AM

Monday - Friday
Services: 7:00 AM

Shabbos
Friday Evening: 6:30 PM

Saturday Morning: 9:30 AM
Followed by Kiddush Luncheon at 12
Mincha: Following Lunch

 

 
Schedule of Classes

Jewish Learning Institute
Art of Marriage - RSVP
Sundays | 10:00 - 11:30 AM

Coffee & Parsha Class

Monday - Friday | 7:45 - 8:15 AM

Tanya Class
with Rabbi Paltiel
Saturdays | 8:45-9:30 AM

with Rabbi Weinberg
Thursday evening at private home in town. Call for details.

 

 
* PATRONIZE OUR SPONSORS *
   

 
Rebbe E-Video

Rebbe Video of the Week
Living the Torah

Rebbe E-video


Click here to watch an 6-minute clip.
 

This Week @ ChabadPW.org
 
Judaism 101
Kosher Moneylending
Lending money is the highest form of charity, far greater than giving handouts. A handout may preserve a life for a day, but a loan preserves that sense of self-sufficiency necessary to get back on your feet.
En Route to Sinai
Am I Really a Slob?
Maya asked a few questions, peered into cupboards and bedrooms in her best social-worker manner, and then left. I was sure we passed the test . . .
Parshah
Effort That Really Counts
Unlike other sciences, Torah study is not about accumulating knowledge.
On Motherhood
Mama
It's the first word a baby learns to speak. It's the kindest word in any language. It's the name of G‑d.
Chabad-Lubavitch News from Around the World
North America
Wounded Israeli Soldiers Inspire Manhattan Crowds
Sheri Ben Aroya talked about her life, and how it changed one ordinary day with a terror attack that left her paralyzed down the right side of her body.
Israel
Police Recover Torahs Belonging to Historic Safed Synagogue
Six Torah scrolls nabbed a week ago in a mystery heist from the historic Tzemach Tzedek Synagogue in the Old City of Safed, Israel, will be back in place in time for Shavuot, the Jewish holiday commemorating the original giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.
Israel
Historic Synagogue Devastated After Theft of Six Torahs
Even as Safed police continue their investigation into the Friday night theft, members of the local community have commissioned the writing of a new Torah scroll in the hope that their good deeds will aid the recovery of the missing holy items.
Campus Life
Sinai Scholars Symposium Explores Kabbalah and Freud
Students from New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Southern California, Dartmouth College and several others touching on philosophy, the Internet, end-of-life questions, civil liberties, democracy, and scriptural belief in their response to the conference's theme of "ancient ethics in a postmodern world."
The Jewish Calendar
  Friday Iyar 26 | May 18
Omer: Day 41
Today in Jewish HistoryR. Saadia Gaon (942)
Today in Jewish HistoryRamchal (1747)
Today in Jewish HistoryR. Eizik of Homel (1857)
Today in Jewish HistorySix Day War (1967)
Laws and CustomsCount "Forty-Two Days to the Omer" Tonight
  Shabbat Iyar 27 | May 19
Omer: Day 42
Today in Jewish HistoryEichmann Executed (1962)
Laws and CustomsEthics: Chapter 5
Laws and CustomsCount "Forty-Three Days to the Omer" Tonight
  Sunday Iyar 28 | May 20
Omer: Day 43
Today in Jewish HistoryPassing of Samuel (877 BCE)
Today in Jewish HistoryJerusalem Liberated (1967)
Laws and CustomsCount "Forty-Four Days to the Omer" Tonight
  Monday Iyar 29 | May 21
Omer: Day 44
Today in Jewish HistoryHebron Liberated (1967)
Laws and CustomsCount "Forty-Five Days to the Omer" Tonight
  Tuesday Sivan 1 | May 22
Rosh Chodesh
Omer: Day 45
Today in Jewish HistoryFlood Waters Recede (2105 BCE)
Today in Jewish HistoryEncampment at Sinai (1313 BCE)
Today in Jewish HistoryKorach Swallowed (1312 BCE)
Today in Jewish HistoryWorms Jews Massacred (1096)
Laws and CustomsRosh Chodesh Observances
Laws and CustomsCount "Forty-Six Days to the Omer" Tonight
 
The Parshah In A Nutshell

Parshat Behar-Bechukotai

On the mountain of Sinai, G‑d communicates to Moses the laws of the Sabbatical year: every seventh year, all work on the land should cease, and its produce becomes free for the taking for all, man and beast.

Seven Sabbatical cycles are followed by a fiftieth year-the Jubilee year, on which work on the land ceases, all indentured servants are set free, and all ancestral estates in the Holy Land that have been sold revert to their original owners. Additional laws governing the sale of lands, and the prohibitions against fraud and usury, are also given.

G‑d promises that if the people of Israel will keep His commandments, they will enjoy material prosperity and dwell secure in their homeland. But He also delivers a harsh "rebuke," warning of the exile, persecution and other evils that will befall them if they abandon their covenant with Him. Nevertheless, "Even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away; nor will I ever abhor them, to destroy them and to break My covenant with them; for I am the L-rd their G‑d."

The Parshah concludes with the rules on how to calculate the value of different types of pledges made to G‑d.