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Chabad of Port Washington Email: rabbi@chabadpw.org Voice: 516-767-8672 www.ChabadPW.org
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Why is this Thanksgiving different from all other Thanksgivings?
We've all been changed somewhat by Sandy and its aftermath. Hopefully we've matured a bit.
You know all of those wonderful gifts that G‑d gives each of us which we normally take for granted - life, health, family, a roof over our head, power in the house, gas in the car...
Uh uh... not this year. We'll be saying 'thank you' for 'the little things'. (Let's try to remember for all of the days and years to come how fortunate and blessed we really are).
At the same time, let us pray, support and give solidarity to our brethren in Israel. (The "situation" in Israel comes just on the heels of Hurricane Sandy, just as we are licking our wounds, feeling sorry for ourselves for having been without heat for a couple weeks... Suddenly we realize how insignificant this all is. We don't have to wake up our kids in middle of the night to move them to the nearest shelter...)
Let us pray for the time that families in Israel can also enjoy the simple blessings of peaceful living, without the constant fear of rockets flying overhead. It's high time the community of nations realized that Israel has been all too giving and all too patient. I pray that G‑d gives Israel's leaders the wisdom and fortitude to make the very difficult decisions that need to be made. I hope they do what any sovereign nation would do: protect their citizens at all costs. I hope Israel is able to place the value of the lives of its own young men and women in the military, on par (at least) with the civilian population of the enemy; an enemy who so cunningly and viciously exploits its own people to further their terrorist aims.
So dear friends, make here's a novel idea:
Make this Thanksgiving special - join me Thanksgiving morning for prayer! (Services are really short, leaving plenty of time for relaxing and turkeying).
We'll give THANKS for all we've been fortunate to have in this blessed country of the USA, while offering up PRAYERS for our beloved brethren in the Holy Land who essentially are protecting our homeland for each of us; who essentially are being targeted because they're one of us Jews (and Westerners... Make no mistake, the enemies of the Jewish State have no less hatred towards the United States, albeit aren't as public about it).
Services tomorrow morning are at 9AM until approx. 9:50AM. Men and women are welcome and encouraged to join. (Followed by 30 minutes of "Coffee & Parsha" Torah study as per our daily schedule here at Chabad. Fear not - Torah study optional). Friday morning services will be at 9AM as well followed by Coffee & Parsha.
Here's another novel idea to make this Thanksgiving memorable:
Make Friday night Shabbat Dinner with the leftover turkey and stuffing! Light Shabbat Candles, make the Kiddush, celebrate and give thanks for SHABBAT (and the added blessing that your holiday guests are finally gone...)
Happy Thanksgiving and Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel
Please note:
- JLI Lesson 3 - How to Obtain Joy in Life - will take place this Sunday at CHABAD. Bagel brunch to be served.
- Many have asked whether we are moving ahead with the trip to Israel. This is something being considered as we speak. Some of you have expressed doubts about going at this time. Please sit tight, we will make an announcement soon as to our plans. Please feel free to share your thoughts about this at rabbi@chabadpw.org Certainly if enough people still want to go, the trip will go on. We're just not sure about that at this juncture unfortunately.
P.S. Please help us with our Hurricane Sandy Recovery Campaign. Click here for photos and to make a contribution. We have suffered serious damage, estimated to be in the area of $750,000. Our insurance coverage is only $500,000. We will need lots of help getting back on our feet. If each of us made a generous, one time Hurricane Recovery gift we will be OK. Please consider this a personal request and give generously. Also, please forward this request to philanthropic friends and acquaintances who are in the position to help who might assist us at this difficult time. I thank you for your care and consideration.
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Kabbalah of You: Sundays, 10-11:30 AM
Are you all you can be? How can you unleash the infinite power of your soul within? This course provides a mystical roadmap to living a life of happiness, fulfillment, and self-actualization by revealing how you can thrive and be more than just alive.
Click here for more info and to register. |
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Israel at War
By: Rabbi Aron Moss | Sydney, Australia
Question: I am the only Jew in my office so I face a daily barrage of questions about Israel's Operation Pillar of Defense in Gaza. I don't know who appointed me as Israel's spokesman and I am not armed with the answers. Can you help?
Answer: At times like this, each one of us becomes an ambassador for Israel. Even if you don't agree with everything Israel does, any decent person must stand up for Israel's right to self-defense when over a million of its citizens are under rocket attack.
We can leave the military and political issues to the experts, but we should all be clear on the moral questions raised by this war. Let's look at a few of the most commonly asked questions.
Q: How can Israel justify killing civilians if their intent is to crush Hamas terrorists?
A: The death of innocents is a tragic inevitability of any war. Our hearts go out to all bereaving families caught in the middle. The sad fact is that the Palestinian people are being held hostage by Hamas. Just as it is clear that Hamas is morally culpable for the abduction and torture of Israeli hostages such as Gilad Shalit, so too are they culpable for the fate of Palestinian innocents amongst whom they hide. A civilian who is killed while being used by a terrorist as a human shield is a victim of the terrorist, not the Israeli army, who does not target innocent civilians.
Q: Isn't Israel's response a bit disproportionate? So many more Palestinians are dying than Israelis.
A: War is not mathematics. If Israel were merely taking revenge, then it would need to be proportionate. But Israel is waging a defensive war. Since when is war proportionate? In war, you don't measure your response to the enemy by what they have done to you in the past, but rather by what needs to be done to stop them attacking in the future. Israel must destroy Hamas' capability to continue shooting rockets at Israeli cities. Israel's actions are proportionate to the present and future threat, not just the damage done in the past...
CONTINUE>>
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B"H
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Board of Directors
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Adam Katz, Esq., President
Frank Arnold*
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
*Emeritus
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Shabbat Times
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| Shabbat Candle Lighting: |
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Friday, Nov 23
4:13 pm
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| Shabbat Ends: |
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Shabbat, Nov 24
5:15 pm
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Daily Thought
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Not and Is
G‑d is not Nature.
But Nature is G‑dly.
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| Parshah |
 Encountering G‑d
There is an element of the religious life that is beyond conscious control. It comes out of nowhere, when we are least expecting it.
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| War in Israel |
 Do a Mitzvah for Israel
Our mitzvahs, no matter how small they may seem, perpetuate the legacies of those who have fallen, and ensure the continued safety of our brothers and sisters under attack.
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| Video |
 Be Everything You Want to See from Others
So often we are dissatisfied in a relationship. Why can't the other person just this or just that? Listen to a crazy story and learn how to take responsibility for yourself.
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| Women |
 Double Take
I was a girl from Brooklyn, so I heard about crime, but what did I know about police lineups?
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Parshat Vayeitzei
Jacob leaves his hometown of Beersheba and journeys to Charan. On the way, he encounters " the place" and sleeps there, dreaming of a ladder connecting heaven and earth, with angels climbing and descending on it; G‑d appears and promises that the land upon which he lies will be given to his descendants. In the morning, Jacob raises the stone on which he laid his head as an altar and monument, pledging that it will be made the house of G‑d.
In Haran, Jacob stays with and works for his uncle Laban, tending Laban's sheep. Laban agrees to give him his younger daughter, Rachel - whom Jacob loves - in marriage, in return for seven years' labor. But on the wedding night, Laban gives him his elder daughter, Leah, instead - a deception Jacob discovers only in the morning. Jacob marries Rachel, too, a week later, after agreeing to work another seven years for Laban.
Leah gives birth to six sons-Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun-and a daughter, Dinah, while Rachel remains barren. Rachel gives Jacob her handmaid, Bilhah, as a wife to bear children in her stead, and two more sons, Dan and Naphtali, are born. Leah does the same with her handmaid, Zilpah, who gives birth to Gad and Asher. Finally, Rachel's prayers are answered and she gives birth to Joseph.
Jacob has now been in Charan for fourteen years, and wishes to return home. But Laban persuades him to remain, now offering him sheep in return for his labor. Jacob prospers, despite Laban's repeated attempts to swindle him. After six years, Jacob leaves Charan in stealth, fearing that Laban would prevent him from leaving with the family and property for which he labored. Laban pursues Jacob, but is warned by G‑d in a dream not to harm him. Laban and Jacob make a pact on Mount Gal-Ed, attested to by a pile of stones, and Jacob proceeds to the Holy Land, where he is met by angels. |
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