Dear Friend,
We are told to put effort into everything we do and we will succeed. Work hard and be persistent, don't stop, don't wait, just keep at it.
All this is true for six years, but on the seventh, the Torah tells us we should rest the land, for it is a year of Sabbath. All work on the land must cease.
Moreover all produce that grows becomes free for the taking to all people and animals.
So let’s get this straight, you want me to put tremendous effort into my work, be persistent, believe that if I keep at it and work hard I will succeed, and then you tell me that once every seven years I should stop and just not do anything for a full year, let anyone come and take what grows on my land for free, and what? How will I survive, oh right, G-d will provide?!
There is the philosophy of hard work and self determination and there is the philosophy of faith, these ideas are generally diametrically opposed and cannot coexist in the same mind.
However the idea the Torah teaches us here is that for a Jew these two contradicting worlds run parallel to each other and not only can, but must coexist.
For a Jew, hard work and self determination goes hand in hand with believing that it is G-d who wants us to work hard and be self determined and believe that it is his blessings that ultimately brings success.
Full BBQ dinner, 'round the fire marshmallow roasting, sports and games!
Open to all teens in grades 8-12 Free admission!
Come and bring your friends!!
Join for a women's night out, creating your own beautiful flower arrangement, enjoy wine, cheese desserts and great discussion!
Reserve a table with your friends!
Couvert: $36 per person
After May 13: $40 per person
Complimentary for Partners in Pride
Come hear the reading of the Ten Commandments on the anniversary of the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people.
Make your own Ice Cream Sundae on Sunday!
Choose from a variety of flavors and toppings!
This is a dairy event, non-dairy alternatives available.
No reservations or charge for this event!
Fun for the entire family!!
Thursdays 4pm- 5pm Geared for boys and girls in grades 6th - 8th, MVP is volunteering and Mitzvah madness, while connecting with other pre-teens and having a meaningful impact!
MVP is open to all junior teens free of charge!
A BISSELE HUMOR
Martin Lewis converts and becomes a priest.
He gives his first Mass in front of a number of high-ranking priests who came for the occasion. At the end of the new priest's sermon, a cardinal goes up to congratulate him.
"Pastor Lewis," he said, "That was very well done, you were just perfect. But next time, please don't start your sermon with, "My Fellow Goyim..."
WEEKLY eTORAH
“On the mountain” is the name of this week’s Torah portion, Behar. The opening lines tell us that “on the mountain of Sinai” G‑d gave us the laws of Shemitah, the Sabbatical year. “Six years you may sow your field … prune your vineyard, and gather the produce, but the seventh year it shall be a Sabbatical to G‑d. There shall be no planting, sowing, or reaping.”
But what is the connection between the Sabbatical year and Mount Sinai?
The Sabbatical year for the farmer is similar to Shabbat for all of us. We work for six days and then rest on the seventh. In the same way that Shabbat is a much needed day for us to rest after a hard week’s work, the soil too needs to rest and lie fallow for a while. Then, it will regenerate and come back stronger in the future.
But Shabbat is not only a day of physical rest and relaxation. It is a day when we can devote ourselves to the spiritual pursuits we may not have time or headspace for during the hectic work week. Similarly, the Sabbatical year affords us the opportunity to switch off for a longer period so that we, too, can become less immersed in the physical world and devote ourselves to loftier pursuits.
In a pastoral letter to the Jewish community in the lead up to Rosh Hashanah, 5725 (1965), the Rebbe writes that taking time out to focus on the spiritual and the sacred helps ensure that we don’t become completely engulfed by materialism.
Lending refinement to our physical activities can help us realign body and soul. When the body is only interested in satisfying its material cravings and the soul is on a different wavelength altogether, the human being is out of sync—there is inner conflict and tension. Shabbat and the Sabbatical year afford us the opportunity to realign our outer physicality and inner spirituality and, thereby, rediscover a sense of harmony and wholesomeness within ourselves.
When body and soul are in proper alignment, we become healthier human beings. Denying one in favor of the other may be gratifying in the short term, but will inevitably cause long-term turmoil and discontent. Life must be lived holistically, with body and soul in synchrony.
This is where the mountain comes in.
A mountain is an elevation of land. The plains, which are level, suddenly move upward. The mountain is simply the earth rising and elevating. But what a powerful lesson it offers! We really can raise ourselves higher. We can lift ourselves above the mundane. We can rise above the earthly and the material, far above the madding crowd, the noise and tumult. Earthy materialism can be elevated. Earthy materialism can be elevated. It is possible.
The mountain reflects the conviction that we are not earthbound forever. We are not compelled to become immersed in materialism, to sink into decadence. We can raise ourselves up. How encouraging!
As humans, we can look upwards and aspire higher. And when we do, we realize how small the world below us really is, and aspire higher still.
