| This Weeks Kiddush Sponsor |
|
The Chelminsky Family
You too can sponsor a Kiddush. Contact us to reserve a date. |
| A BIT OF WIT |
During a service at an old synagogue in Eastern Europe, when the Shema prayer was said, half the congregants stood up and half remained sitting. The half that was seated started yelling at those standing to sit down, and the ones standing yelled at the ones sitting to stand up. The rabbi, learned as he was in the Law and commentaries, didn't know what to do. His congregation suggested that he consult a housebound
98 year old man who was one of the original founders of their temple. The rabbi hoped the elderly man would be able to tell him what the actual temple tradition was, so he went to the nursing home with a representative of each faction of the ; congregation.
The one whose followers stood during Shema said to the old man, "Is the tradition to stand during this prayer?"
The old man answered, "No, that is not the tradition." The one whose followers sat said, "Then the tradition is to sit during Shema!"
The old man answered, "No, that is not the tradition."
Then the rabbi said to the old man, "But the congregants fight all the time, yelling at each other about whether they should sit or stand."
The old man interrupted, exclaiming, "THAT is the tradition!"
|
| ASK THE RABBI |
Dear Rabbi
My husband just doesn't seem to get it. He came home over an hour late last night without so much as calling to tell me that he won't be on time. This is the fifth time he has done this and we are only married three months! It may seem petty but it upsets me greatly. I don't want him to see me as a nagging wife. What should I do?
This may be disappointing, but it sounds like your husband is acting like a pretty normal guy. And you sound pretty normal too. That's why you are having this problem.
There is something you need to know about men. They are loners. Being in a relationship is unnatural to them. They do not automatically think about how their actions affect someone else. The default emotional state of a man is loneliness.
This is not true of women. A woman has an innate sense of relationship, of connection to others. A woman naturally shares of herself and bonds with others, a man does not. She is a relationship being, he is a lonely being.
Of course, it is a big generalisation to say that all men are loners and all women are connectors, and generalisations are never accurate. But to say generalisations are never accurate is itself a generalisation, and thus not accurate either. So let's generalise: Man's natural state is to be single. Woman's natural state is to be in a couple.
There is a solid base for this theory. It stretches all the way back to the beginning of time, to the first man and the first woman, Adam and Eve. Adam was created alone. His original state was that of a bachelor. But Eve was created from Adam. She was never single. Eve by her very nature was a relationship being, because she was created with her partner next to her. She had an inborn sense of interconnectedness, she intuitively knew that we are not alone in this world, that our actions impact others and that we can and must be sensitive to those around us. This was innate to her psyche, for she was never alone. But all this was new to Adam. He had to learn what a relationship means, and how to be aware of another, for at his core he was a lonely being.
Adam is the essential man, and Eve the essential woman. And so until today women are relationship beings and men are lonely beings. Not that all women are good at relationships, and not that all men are hopeless hermits. Rather, women are more likely to know how to bond with others, and men are more likely to keep their emotions to themselves.
So your husband has no idea why you are upset when he comes home late. He may be thinking, "Why can't she occupy herself until I get there? Is she so insecure that she can't look after herself for an extra hour or so?" What he doesn't yet understand is that while he is a loner, you are a connector. You don't need him to be physically with you all the time, but emotionally, he must be with you all the time. If he would just call to say he is late, you will not be feel alone, because he showed that he cares, he has bonded with you.
Eve's mission was to help Adam come out of his isolation and learn how to connect. You need to do this too. Explain to your husband that it is not his lateness that upsets you, it is that he wasn't considerate enough to communicate his lateness to you. Help him understand that he is no longer alone, and show him how beautiful the world is when shared with someone else. Give it time - you can't cure existential loneliness overnight. But if you persevere, with gentleness and love, he will open up that lonely place inside him and let you in. Then you can share your lives in your own Garden of Eden, and never be lonely again. |
| JEWISH YOUTUBE |
Click here to watch a humorous commercial starring "Joey" from the TV show "Friends". |
| CHECK US OUT |
Click here to find out what you learn from the game of Football. |
| Join Our List
|
|
|
|
|
Candle Lighting Time
5:46 pm
Kabbalat Shabbat
5:45 pm
Morning Services
9:30 am
Followed by a gourmet kiddush
Evening Services
5:30 pm
Shabbat Ends
6:40 pm
Sunday Morning Services
9:00 am
Followed by a delicious breakfast
Weekday Morning Services
8:00 am
Followed by a delicious breakfast
Tuesday Senior's Class
10:30 - 11:30 am
Israel: The Land & the Spirit
Thursday Torah Studies
8:00 - 9:00 pm
With Rabbi Baron Delivered in English
Thursday Parsha Class
9:00 pm
With Rabbi Yehuda Delivered in Hebrew
Friday Torah Studies
1:00 - 2:00 pm
With Rabbi Baron Delivered in English |
|
Shlomo Chelminsky invites you... |
|
|
to a breakfast in honor of the Shloshim (30 days since passing) of his dear mother Rivka OBM. It will take place in the synagogue immediately following Shachris (morning services) on Wednesday, February 6th. Services are at 8:00 am. |
|
Singles Event - A Special Thank You... |
|
|
to Michael Sugar and Amir Seliger for a job well done. They planned and actualized the singles weekend last week. They dedicated many hours of work to the success of this project. The hard work paid off with amazing success. Attendance was way beyond anything anticipated. Over eighty young singles enjoyed this wonderful event. Most of all it was a most memorable event with great reviews. May they be repaid with all of their hearts desires for the good.
If you would like to volunteer or join the committee for the next singles event please let us know! |
|
Blind Faith is Becoming a Trend! Are You a Victim? |
|
|
If you feel prey to blind faith, then this course is for YOU!
Should faith be blind? ~ Who wrote the Torah?
Are we rewarded and punished for our behavior?
Is there an Afterlife? ~ Does G-d communicate with us?
Does Judaism believe in heaven and hell?
How can we know what G-d wants? ~ Is prophecy a fantasy?
How did the universe get here? Where are we headed?
FINALLY, ANSWERS TO LIFE'S MOST IMPORTANT QUESTIONS--YOURS!
Hurry to register space is limited: This groundbreaking new six week course begins in less than two weeks!
|
|
The Subject of Next Week's Class: |
|
|
Terumah: Making a Home for G-d
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
When one thinks about the concept of the Tabernacle and the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the obvious question that comes to mind is why is G-d confining Himself to a single place of worship if He's truly everywhere? In this lesson we will examine how and why G-d's true Essence in our material world is only revealed in physical structures. We will also come to understand why and how our synagogues and Jewish homes have been the primary shelters for the Jewish people and the G-dly presence for over two thousand years of exile, persecution and adversity. |
|
Thursday, February 7th
8:00-9:00 pm
or
Friday, February 8th
1:00-2:00 pm
at Chabad of Sunny Isles Beach |
|
PARSHA IN A NUTSHELL |
|
Following the revelation at Sinai, G-d legislates a series of laws for the people of Israel. These include the laws of the indentured servant; the penalties for murder, kidnapping, assault, and theft; civil laws pertaining to redress of damages, the granting of loans, and the responsibilities of the "Four Guardians"; and the rules governing the conduct of justice by courts of law.
Also included are laws warning against mistreatment of foreigners; the observance of the seasonal festivals, and the agricultural gifts that are to be brought to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem; the prohibition against cooking meat with milk; and the mitzvah of prayer. Altogether, the Parshah of Mishpatim contains fifty-three mitzvot -- 23 imperative commandments and 30 prohibitions.
G-d promises to bring the people of Israel to the Holy Land, and warns them against assuming the pagan ways of its current inhabitants.
The people of Israel proclaim, "We will do and we will hear all that G-d commands us." Leaving Aaron and Hur in charge in the Israelite camp, Moses ascends Mount Sinai and remains there for forty days and forty nights to receive the Torah from G-d. |
|
E-TORAH |
|
|
Cyberspace, outer space, inner space. Genome maps, globalization, going to Mars. Smart cards, smart bombs, stem cells and cell phones. There is no denying it: we live in a new age. Science fiction has become scientific fact. And the question is asked: In this new world order, with science and technology changing the way we live, is religion still relevant? Do we still need to subscribe to an ancient and seemingly long obsolete code of laws when we are so further advanced than our ancestors?
This question reminds me of little old Hymie Levy of London who somehow found himself attending a cocktail party in the company of aristocracy. Poor Hymie was completely out of place mingling with the lords and ladies of British royalty and high society. One Duchess was so irritated by this ordinary Jew's presence that she confronted him directly. Oozing sarcasm, in her finest elocution, she let on to Hymie, "Did you know that my family traces its lineage back to the very people who were personally present at the signing of the Magna Carta!"Hymie Levy was unfazed. He gave a little shrug of his shoulders and whispered straight into the ear of Her Haughtiness, "Un mein Zayde Moishe vos poisonally present by de giving of de Tzen Commendments!"
Have the Ten Commandments passed their "sell by" date? Are faith and doubt, murder, adultery, thievery, lying and jealousy out of fashion? Notwithstanding all our marvellous medical and scientific developments, has human nature itself really changed? Are not the very same moral issues that faced our ancestors still challenging our own generation?
Whether it's an ox cart or a Mercedes, road rage or courteous coexistence is still a choice we must make. Looking after aged parents is not a new problem. Whether it was Adam and Eve or Michael and Sheryl, the grass somehow always seems greener on the other side. For some inexplicable reason, the other guy's wife, house, horse or Porsche still seem more attractive and desirable than our own.
The very same issues dealt with in the Bible -- sibling rivalry, jealous partners, and even murder -- are still the stuff of newspaper headlines today. So what else is new? Has anything changed? Yes, today we have astronauts and space stations and laser beams and laptops, but the basic issues and choices human beings must face remain identical. Once upon a time the question was do I hit him with my club or slice him up with my sword. Today the question is do I call up the nuclear submarines or send in the guided missiles?
Technology has developed in leaps and bounds. But the core issues, the basic moral dilemmas have not changed one iota. We still struggle with knowing the difference between right and wrong, moral or immoral, ethical or sneaky and not even the most souped-up computer on earth is able to answer those questions for us.
Science and technology can do wonders for humankind. But they can also blow us all to kingdom come faster than Attila the Hun could have ever imagined. Science and technology answer How and What. They do not address the question of Why. Why are we here in the first place? Why should I be nice to my neighbour? Why should my life be nobler than my pet Doberman's? Science and technology have unravelled many mysteries that puzzled us for centuries. But they have not answered a single moral question. Only Torah addresses the moral minefield. And those issues are perhaps more pressing today than ever before in history.
Torah is truth and truth is eternal. Scenarios come and go. Lifestyles change with the geography. The storylines are different but the gut level issues are all too familiar. If we ever needed religion -- or in our language, Torah -- we need it equally today and maybe more so. May we continue to find moral guidance and clarity in the eternal truths of our holy and eternal Torah. Amen. | |
|
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yisrael and Toby Baron
Chabad of Sunny Isles Beach
| |
|
