8-10-06

All of us are focusing our attention on the situation in Israel, as we all hope and pray for the total safety and wellbeing of our brothers and sisters throughout the Hold Land, especially in the Northern areas. I want to reiterate the simple truism that we are all one people, bound together through our history and our Torah. What happens there affects us and what we do here affects them over there.

We must do our part. Israel and the Jewish people are at war. Who would have thought the war would continue this long, with so many innocent casualties on both sides? We all must do our share to contribute to the war effort. We must help with charitable gifts beyond our normal custom during this time of crisis. (Click here to contribute through Colel Chabad, one of the largest social service agencies in Israel). We must show solidarity to Israel by sending emails, calling government agencies and responding to polls, etc.

Perhaps the greatest gifts we can give our brethren in Israel at this time are our mitzvahs. A mitzvah is spiritual power or surge of energy. I am sure you have experienced a surge of energy at times when you have done a mitzvah such as lighting a Shabbat candle or putting on tefilin. Well, that energy is strong and is boundless. It travels across lands and oceans to help protect our people everywhere and especially the soldiers in harms way to protect our homeland, and our people. (Make no mistake. The two are inseparable. G‑d forbid, should something happen to our homeland, no Jew will be safe anywhere).

Here are three practical suggestions I strongly recommend that you participate in as part of your war effort (these should begin immediately and continue at least until the war is over and Israel is once again stable and peaceful):

1. Women and girls from the age of 3 years old should light the Shabbat Candles each and every Friday in honor of Shabbat at the proper time. (Click here for instructions and times). The Shabbat Candles are said to be powerful in illuminating our lives during dark and difficult times.
   
2. Men and boys from the age of 13 should put on tefillin every weekday. (If that is too difficult, consider once a week). Click here for instructions and more info. If you are willing to make a commitment to begin using the tefillin every day, please email me at mailto:[email protected]and I will arrange for you to receive a pair of tefilin as a gift, absolutely free! (a value of $300).
   
3. Check your mezuzot to make sure they are kosher and that there is a mezuzah on every single door way in the home (excluding closets and bathrooms). Please email me mailto:[email protected]if you would like help in checking and affixing mezuzos. I will have volunteer rabbis come and take care of everything. You can also get one mezuzah free of charge as a gift from Lubavitch Headquarters.

Friends, I am singling out these three mitzvahs because the Torah tells us they are protections and sources of strength to our people and to the world at large, which surely needs extra strength and stability during these trying times. Please do not sit idly by. Please respond to this appeal and take on at least one small step forward in one of the above, if not in all of them. (Even one more mezuzah on your home is meaningful, or Shabbat candles once a month.) And don't hesitate to contact me by email or phone for help.

Next year in Jerusalem! We want Moshiach Now!

Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel

Chabad Outing to Shea Stadium-Free tickets available
Thanks to the generosity of Jonathan and Philip Brill, we are offering our Chabad House community a limited number of free tickets to the New York Mets baseball game for Sunday, August 20th at 1:00 PM. If you would like to join us for this wonderful community outing please reserve your tickets by emailing: [email protected]. We have a limited number of tickets so please reserve as early as possible.

Berkowitz Gan Israel Day Camp
This week was Simcha - Happiness Week at Berkowitz Gan Israel and was therefore packed with nonstop smiles and many happy camp moments! The campers took part in a Chai Lifeline Swim-A-Thon on Monday and raised funds for children with special needs. After a delicious pizza lunch, the kids had an incredible Tae Kwon Doe instruction and Art session. On Tuesday, the campers had the time of their lives at the Herrill Bowling Lanes. There is just nothing like bowling with your friends and fun counselors! The littlest campers went to My Gym and got to do aerobics and had playtime on all the great equipment.

Wednesday was jam packed with B.G.I. fun, including swimming, a smiley bean hunt, baking black & white cookies, and sports instruction too. The campers spent an enjoyable day at Adventureland on Thursday. The rides and fun put big smiles on everyone’s faces! Since Friday was Silly Simcha Hat Day all the kids came to camp wearing funny hats! In the morning they braided challah for Shabbat and played Hug-A-Bear at the camp Shabbat party. Then, all the campers enjoyed a great swim and made neat Arts n’Crafts projects with their bunks. All the fun and giggles at camp this week will surely keep the campers smiling until... next summer! View camp photos on our website - click here!

Membership Drive:

	NEW WEEKLY FEATURE! Torah Thought

The Golden Calf

In this week's Torah portion, Eikev, Moses recounts the story of the Golden Calf and the breaking of the first set of Tablets. After praying for another 40 days and nights, G‑d commands Moses, "Hew for yourself two tablets of stone like the first...and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke."

G‑d then commands the Jewish people to build Him a sanctuary, "so the nations will know that the sin of the Calf has been forgiven." Our Sages teach that one of the factors contributing to the sin of the Golden Calf was the great quantity of gold in the Jews' possession.

Because they were unable to withstand the temptation, one might think that, after their sin, G‑d would forbid them the use of gold for all time. Yet we find that the exact opposite occurred: the very first material mentioned in the building of the sanctuary - the purpose of which was to atone for the Golden Calf - is gold!

"The world was not worthy of the use of gold..." our Sages explain. "It was created solely for the purpose of the sanctuary and the Holy Temple." After being brought into existence for this reason, permission was then granted for mankind to utilize gold for other purposes as well.

This is but one example of the principle that everything in the world is created to serve a G‑dly purpose. "Everything created by G‑d in His world is only created for His honor," the Mishna teaches. G‑d grants man the free will to choose how His creations are to be used - to fulfill the purpose for which they were created, or, G‑d forbid, to do evil.

Gold, created solely for use in the sanctuary and Temple, was utilized by the Children of Israel for their idol-worship. The gross misuse of the gold, however, did not alter its original purpose one iota. G‑d has no desire to destroy His world simply because some people are foolish!

Furthermore, the fact that G‑d allows man the capacity to utilize His creations for evil adds to His honor. For human nature is such that when a person is confronted by obstacles, inner strengths that would not otherwise have been revealed are brought to the fore, strengthening his resolve in the service of G‑d.

This fundamental principle applies not only to things that were created during the Six Days of Creation, but to modern discoveries and advancements in technology that are constantly being invented.

These too, are part of Divine plan, and are also "discovered" solely for a G‑dly purpose. The true objective behind all of creation, in reality, is one and the same — to enhance the service of the Creator of all things.

The fact that some people choose to utilize these means for corrupt purposes does not detract from their original intent. On the contrary, when a Jew utilizes modern technology for the purpose of spreading Torah and its commandments, he elevates these tools to their true perfection, for which they were discovered in the first place.