We want to thank the many people who came to the 2nd hearing last Monday for approval of the expansion of our Synagogue. The next hearing is scheduled for Monday, Dec 4 and again your presence to show support is very important and helpful for the approval process.
This past Wednesday we had a powerful discussion on Antisemitism. We heard the experiences of one of our college students at Cornell and the things we can do to be united.
Thursday morning, we had the pleasure of welcoming over 75 dads and teens to our Prayer and breakfast, where all the dads and boys put on tefillin, joined in the reading of Shma and prayers for Israel. We all then enjoyed a wonderful breakfast while enjoying some awesome Israeli music in the background. -------------------- Please continue to join us for Shabbat services to show your support for Israel and the Jewish people as we gather in prayer, Kiddush and discussion. Shabbat Schedule below.
Sincerely, Rabbi Mendel & Elke Zaltzman
Shabbos Times
Friday, November 24 Candle Lighting: 4:14pm Evening Service: 4:20pm
Chanukah is around the corner! Join our amazing community celebrations!
A BISSELE HUMOR
Bill, Jim, and Scott were at a convention together sharing a large suite at the top of a 75-story hotel. After a long day of meetings, they were shocked to hear that the elevators in their hotel were broken, and they would have to climb 75 flights of stairs to get to their room. Bill said to Jim and Scott, "Let's break the monotony of this unpleasant task by concentrating on something interesting. I'll tell jokes for 25 flights, Jim can sing songs for the next 25 flights and Scott will tell sad stories for the rest of the way." On the 26th floor, Bill stopped telling jokes and Jim began to sing. At the 51st floor, Jim stopped singing and Scott began to tell sad stories. "I will tell my saddest story first," he said. "I left the room key in the car."
WEEKLY eTORAH
The dream of the ladder in our Parshah is something that has captivated people’s imaginations for thousands of years. Jacob, the ancestor of the Jewish people, was on a journey going far away from home. The sun set, and he lay down and slept, dreaming of a ladder reaching from earth to heaven. The basic perspective of Judaism is that “earth,” meaning practical, physical life in all its detail, and “heaven,” spirituality and holiness, are closely connected. In every area of activity, we have the opportunity to express this connection. The physical details of Jewish law provide guidance how to achieve this. For example, the Zohar tells us that the ladder in Jacob’s dream represents prayer. Like the ladder, prayer reaches from earth to heaven. It is the means for every individual person to connect with G‑d. The prayer service has different sections. In the morning service there is the preliminary part of the prayers, then the Shema, then the Amidah. These are different stages, similar to the rungs of a ladder. During the service the person is climbing higher and higher, reaching ever closer to G‑d. The highest stage is the Amidah prayer, in which you stand in the immediate presence of G‑d, as in the throne room, and you speak directly to Him. Following this interpretation, the angels going up the ladder in Jacob’s dream represent the words of prayer. The words coming from our mouths and our hearts rise up to G‑d. They carry with them a little bit of the radiance of our soul: our feelings of love and dedication. The angels coming down the ladder are the messengers from G‑d carrying divine blessing to the person who is praying, to his or her family, to the community, to the Jewish people and to the entire world. After having the dream of the ladder, Jacob made a declaration establishing the bond between another version of these two worlds. One world is that of his own personal material success. The other is holiness. How can these two be joined? Jacob said to G‑d, “. . . of whatever You give me, I will give a tenth to You” (Genesis 28:22).
By giving a proportion of his income to charity, Jacob was ensuring that all his wealth was tinged with holiness—because every hundred pieces of silver he earned meant that an extra ten pieces of silver would be used for a sacred purpose. Thus, two worlds are joined, the material and the holy, like earth and heaven. Through the ages, Jews have tried to follow Jacob’s example, giving a tenth of their income to charity. This practice has been a vital factor in the preservation of the Jewish ideal, learnt from Jacob’s dream: to seek in every aspect of life, whether in prayer or at work in the office, to join earth and heaven. -adapted from www.chabad.org
