| A BIT OF WIT |
Yankel had been an active member of the Union for over 40 years.
When his Union hears the sad news of his passing, they choose Brother Peter Smith to represent them at the funeral.
After the funeral, the Union's President calls Brother Peter Smith for a report on how the funeral went.
"Well," says Peter, "sometimes I think Jews can be as crazy as the rest of us. When I got to the funeral, this little old man with a beard came up to me and asked if I was a brother. When I said I was, he took out a knife and started cutting up my suit." |
| ASK THE RABBI |
Dear Rabbi
Why is the Jewish custom to wish "Long life" to mourners? After losing someone dear to you, why would you want to live a long life without them? Can the blessing for long life not sometimes be a curse?
Answer:
In the original Hebrew, the blessing is, "May you have long days." Some of us are blessed with long lives, some not. But we can all have long days.
A long day is a day full of meaning, a day spent doing good, spreading happiness and fulfilling a purpose. A day of giving and loving, learning and teaching, building spirits and lifting souls - that is a long day.
Some achieve in a short lifetime what others never get around to doing. The difference is not how you spend your life but how you spend your day. We don't choose how many days we live, but we can choose how we live our days. The length of our days is not measured in hours on the clock but in beats of the heart, not in minutes but in mitzvahs.
When we suffer the loss of a loved one we become more sharply aware of how precious just one day can be. A wasted day is an eternity lost. And a day well spent can have an eternal impact.
Yes, there's always tomorrow, but there's only one today. And we have many lifetimes, but this one we only live once. Don't wait for tomorrow. Time is short, make today a long day.
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| JEWISH YOUTUBE |
One of the most important mitzvahs Jewish men perform on a daily basis is put on tefillin (with the exception of Shabbat and festivals). Click here to see a little tutorial on how we perform this special mitzvah - enjoy. |
| New Torah Studies Course |
Most of our limitations are self imposed...
ATTAINING FREEDOM
the book of Exodus
A weekly journey into the Soul of the Torah Portion
Your Choice of Days
Thursday Evenings, Starting
January 3rd
8:00-9:00 pm
or
Friday Afternoons,
Starting
January 4th
1:00-2:00 pm
at Chabad of Sunny Isles Beach |
| Torah Class Given in Hebrew |
Thursdays from 8:00-9:00 pm
by Rabbi Yehuda |
| Women's and Couples Retreat |
Women's & Couples' Retreats with Rabbi Manis Friedman at The Alexander Hotel, Miami Beach.
Bais Chana Women's Retreat, Jan 6-10 Join A-list educators, Rabbi Manis Friedman, Rivkah Slonim, Shimona Tzukernik and Freidy Yanover for classes, inspiration and camaraderie. Bring an adventurous mind and an adventurous spirit and attend any or all of the 5 days. Babysitting is available. Call 347.853.1168. Click here for a complete schedule of classes, details about featured lecturers, accommodations and all-inclusive daily rates. For local residents classes are $15 each or for 3 or more $10 each. Lunch $18, dinner $28. No reservations are necessary for classes. For meals and babysitting please reserve two days prior.
Couples Retreat, Jan 10-13 Set aside time for the two of you and dedicate the weekend to understanding more about your selves and your marriage along with top educators and marriage experts, Rabbi Manis Friedman & Malka Touger. You both deserve this. Babysitting is available. Contact 347.853.1168. Click here for a daily schedule of classes, more information on accommodations, rates for overnights stays and featured lecturers. No reservations needed for classes. Call 347.853.1168 to reserve for meals or babysitting. |
| New JLI Course |
BEYOND BELIEF
Reflections on Jewish Faith, Reason and Experience
Our beliefs color the way we see the world and helps us to make sense of the inevitable challenges that confront us.
Beond Belief is designed to help you take a closer look at how Jewish beliefs can help bring meaning to your life and guide your choices.
Class start on
Tuesday, February 5th at 7:00 pm and continue for six weeks. |
| Join Our List
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Candle Lighting Time
5:25 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
5:30 pm
Morning Services
9:30 am
Followed by a gourmet kiddush
Evening Services
5:00 pm
Shabbat Ends
6:20 pm
Sunday Morning Services
9:00 am
Followed by a delicious breakfast |
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Family Shabbat Jan. 18-19 |
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Chabad of Sunny Isles Beach is proud to announce our Family Shabbaton. Leave the cooking to us and enjoy
Friday, January 18 and Saturday, January 19. Feed your stomach and your soul as we enjoy an inspiring Shabbat together.
Friday, Jan.18 Evening Services 5:30 PM Followed by a Gourmet Dinner.
Saturday, Jan. 19 Morning Services 9:30 AM Followed by a sit down lunch
Cost: Adults $25 Children 10 and under $10
For members max $80 per family.
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Singles Shabbaton Jan. 25 |
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Join your single friends on January 25th at Chabad of Sunny Isles Beach. Evening Services at 5:30 PM followed by a catered Shabbat dinner. To reserve call 305-792-4770 or www.chabadSIB.org
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PARSHA IN A NUTSHELL |
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G-d reveals Himself to Moses. Employing the "four expressions of redemption," He promises to take out the Children of Israel from Egypt, deliver them from their enslavement, redeem them and acquire them as His own chosen people at Mount Sinai; He will then bring them to the Land He promised to the Patriarchs as their eternal heritage.
Moses and Aaron repeatedly come before Pharaoh to demand in the name of G-d, "Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness." Pharaoh repeatedly refuses. Aaron's staff turns into a snake and swallows the magic sticks of the Egyptian sorcerers. G-d then sends a series of plagues upon the Egyptians.
The waters of the Nile turn to blood; swarms of frogs overrun the land; lice infest all men and beasts. Hordes of wild animals invade the cities, a pestilence kills the domestic animals, painful boils afflict the Egyptians. For the seventh plague, fire and ice combine to descend from the skies as a devastating hail. Still, "the heart of Pharaoh was hardened and he would not let the children of Israel go; as G-d had said to Moses." |
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E-TORAH |
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This week's Torah portion recounts the beginning of the end of the Egyptians. The first seven of the ten plagues are wrought on the Egyptians: Blood, Frogs, Lice, Wild Animals, Pestilence, Boils, and Locust.
I am often asked about God's treatment of the Egyptians: why hit them so hard? If God's purpose is to redeem His people from Egyptian slavery, why not simply take them out! God certainly could have liberated the Israelites "Gandhi style"... why all the violence? Why is the Torah, God's blueprint for "healthy living," so violent?
First we must dispel a common misconception:
The prophet Isaiah writes that God's ways are not the ways of flesh and blood; He works on a completely different plane. When a human is hurt by another, physically or emotionally, the instinctive reaction is a desire to react, to lash out in response. At times we restrain ourselves, and at times we do not, but we are not in control of our innate instinct of self-protection -- and its immediate partner, the desire to respond to a threat to our wellbeing.
The act of a mere mortal, however, doesn't pose any "threat" to God. Acts perpetrated "against" God cannot penetrate or hurt Him. Thus there is no instinctive reaction, no natural desire to punish.
True, our good deeds gratify God, and our sins distress Him. But that is only because God freely chose to be gladdened or upset by certain behaviors. An action or deed is relevant in God's eyes only because He allows it to be relevant, but ultimately, as it relates to God's essence, it is an act of a mortal, and cannot delight or offend Him.
The same is true with the system of reward and punishment, checks and balances, which God instituted in His creation. God decided that a mitzvah is a way to connect with Him, and thus, by fulfilling a good deed one opens a spout releasing the flow of Divine energy to oneself. When one does otherwise, one closes that spout, as it were. It's not that antagonizing God elicits a harsh response; rather, when you do a positive action, you generate a spiritual (and often physical) reaction. When you do good, good is the reaction. When you do bad, the reaction is bad. It's a matter of cause and effect.
When the Egyptians hurt God's people, they caused a reaction that was, and is, embedded in the nature of creation. Good deeds are responded to with goodness, and bad deeds are responded to as well. It is the person himself who triggers the response, activating, as it were, the mechanism that God Himself created. |
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New Course |
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Attaining Freedom The Book of Exodus. A weekly journey into the soul of the weekly Torah Portion.
Your choice of days Thursday's 8:00-9:00 PM or Friday's 1:00-2:00 PM @ Chabad of Sunny Isles Beach | |
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Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yisrael and Toby Baron
Chabad of Sunny Isles Beach | |
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