Rabbi's Blog - Chabad of Pittsford

Jewish Thought of the Week

Friday, September 27, 2024 - 11:09 AM

Sometimes it feels like we Jewish Rochesterians have enacted a biblical verse from the week's Torah portion.

Actually, it feels like we knocked this one out not the park!

It was a remarkable week for Jews in Rochester and I feel fortunate to have experienced it personally.

The week kicked off with 1000 people coming together for JFest 5785. Rabbi Mochkin,myself and other Chabad volunteers merited to take part with the shofar factory , mezuzah and tefilin booth engaging hundreds of festival goers.

Rishi saw special attendance at her Tanya class and Torah and Tea with more Jewish women coming together to learn and connect with each other .

Wednesday night was our new men's group 'Torah & Whiskey' and I was floored when 15 guys showed up!

On Thursday huge crowds showed up at the Jewish Federation's Comedy Event to support their work and laugh with comedian Elon Gold.

In this week’s parsha, we read: “You stand upright this day, all of you, before the L‑rd your G‑d…from the heads of your tribes to the hewers of your wood and the drawers of your water” (Deuteronomy 29:9–10).

In short all Jews have to stand together. All of us.

Every member of the community, regardless of role, is essential.

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi taught that we are like the organs of a body; each one depends on the other, from the “head” to the “foot,” all coming together to make a single entity.

This sense of unity is especially profound during the High Holidays when we all stand as one before G‑d. As we reflect on the trials facing our brothers and sisters in Israel—the victims, the hostages, and the citizens enduring war on two fronts—we are reminded that our strength comes from being there for each other. Whether through prayer, support, or solidarity, even from afar, we are united, holding one another up.

Each one of us plays a vital role in creating the beautiful moments that define our community. Whether through leadership, acts of kindness, or your generous support, you contribute something that no one else can.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that we each have a strength, ability, or talent in which we excel over others. In some cases, you are a “head,” in others, a “foot,” but in all instances, we come together as one.

Your contributions—spiritual, emotional, and material—create the foundation upon which this community thrives. As we enter the new year, let us continue to support each other, creating more beautiful moments together.

So it's 2 steps:

1) We have to make efforts to stand ,laugh,cry ,just be together.

2) We need to know we each other. Every Jew is vital and unique to the community.

Whether you lead from the front or support behind the scenes, your impact is felt, your presence matters, and together, we create something greater than ourselves.

Thank you for being a part of every beautiful moment we share. May we all be blessed with a year filled with peace, unity, and joy. Together, may we continue to share and create beautiful moments.

Shana Tova U’Metuka—Wishing you a sweet and fulfilling new year,

Rabbi Yitzi and Rishi Hein

Jewish Thought of the Week

Friday, September 20, 2024 - 12:02 PM

The farmer prepares the earth, plants the seed, prunes the tree, keeps the squirrels away and does what they can to nurture the seed into a sapling and strong healthy tree – including prayer.

For man is the tree of the field. (Deuteronomy 20:19)

“When you come in to the Land . . . ,” opens the Parshah of Ki Tavo, “you shall take of the first of all the fruit of the Land . . . and put it in a basket; and you shall go to the place which the L‑rd your G‑d will choose to place His name there . . .”

Upon presenting the bikkurim (first-ripened fruits) at the Holy Temple, the Jewish farmer makes a declaration avowing his gratitude for all that G‑d has done for His people (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8)

I once heard it said that every living organism as well as any organization will grow to its natural capacity as long as it is nurtured in a healthy fashion.

This means that if we water the tree, give it enough sunlight, and feed it properly it will become as big and robust as its natural ability is. (An apple tree won’t be as tall as a palm tree and it won’t give off oranges.)

What this aphorism doesn’t take into account is outside factors that are out of our control. Severe weather, damage by other creatures, animal or human. Barring outside influence there is also the possibility that the seed is damaged or for some other natural purpose the seed didn’t digest the nutrition as it could have.

In other words, we are only in control of what we can do to provide nurture and protection, but we are not in control of what happens outside of that.

Part of the inner dialogue that causes self judgement, shame and inner frustration is the expectation of control. Control over our influence on others, control over the inner struggle that each of us live with, control over the things that affect us in the past and that affect us presently that are out of our control.

The gratitude that we offer is an act of surrender to this truth and a deep expression that G-d has done his part in ensuring a successful outcome. It is also an expression that the outcome whatever it may be is a successful one because it is directly resulted from Hashem’s influence. In His kindness Hashem has given us the ability to be part of the story but the outcome is always His.

This is an empowering thought in so many areas of life; understanding our own personal story, accepting our children and other loved ones, and accepting the story of the world around us.

If you look closely at the text of thanks, you’ll see that it’s not all peaches and cream. There is a lot of pain and struggle in the gratitude. This is consistent with this message.

As we near the end of a very difficult year, we reflect on the global events and in particular of those that have affected our people. We give gratitude for the revealed blessings, we take responsibility for our part in illuminating the darkness wherever we’ve been able to and we deeply pray for a better 5785.

And we accept the Torah’s instruction: Then, you shall rejoice with all the good that the Lord, your God, has granted you and your household, you, the Levite, and the stranger who is among you (Deuteronomy 29:11)

Rabbi Yitzi Hein

Jewish Thought of the Week

Friday, September 13, 2024 - 12:05 PM

Today, I was learning the daily Chumash for the day and I was struck by something so simple , yet so profound (by the way - all are invited to join our daily Chumash zoom 9:05am M-F as we study together the daily portion with a lively group - reply to this email if you want to be added to list).

In this week's Torah portion of Ki Tetzei, the Torah recounts some additional details and prohibitions related to TZAARAT. For those who need a refresher, The sages explain that tzaraat was actually a supernatural biblical skin affliction that would usually come about due to a number of sins, most notably the sin of speaking lashon hara, derogatory speech. White spots would appear on the person. They would then have to go to the local Kohen expert on this condition to determine if it was indeed this tzaraat condition. If it was, the afflicted person would have to be quarantined to allow for personal reflection and better themselves, from which the tzaraat would then fade away.

This week the Torah adds a caution when you think you might have this condition initially:

"Be cautious regarding the lesion of tzara'ath, to observe meticulously and you shall do according to all that the Levite priests instruct you; as I have commanded them, [so shall you] observe to do.

Remember what the Lord, your God, did to Miriam on the way, when you went out of Egypt".

Rashi explains this to mean:

Be cautious regarding the lesion of tzara’ath: that you do not remove any of the signs of uncleanness [e.g., by peeling off the skin], and that you do not cut off a bahereth, bright spot. — [Sifrei 24:140, Mak. 22a]

according to all that [the Levite kohanim] instruct you: whether to quarantine [the person with tzara’ath], whether to make a decisive diagnosis [of tzara’ath], or whether to declare him clean.

Remember what the Lord, your God, did to Miriam: If you wish to take precautions against being stricken with tzara’ath, then do not speak לָשׁוֹן הָרַע [slander, derogatory remarks]. Remember what was done to Miriam, who spoke against her brother [Moses] and was stricken with lesions [of tzara’ath] (see Num. 12:1-16). - [Sifrei 24: 141]

While tzaraat does not appear nowadays post-biblical era, I was super-struck by a very relevant message we can learn from all the above:

When you think you might have a problem or a character flaw, don't try to RIP OFF the SYMPTOMS. The Torah is telling us when we think we have an issue we need to get to the bottom of it.

How?

Step 1) Go to your local spiritual counselor or a mentor (that was the role of the biblical Kohen). Have an outside and objective voice determine if you really have an issue.

Step 2) If there is an issue, your mentor should help you reflect on the root cause and help you get to the bottom.

Step 3) Think about stories of others who had this issue and how they prevailed (like Miriam).

That's it! Then you will be truly healed moving forward.

Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom/Good Shabbos

Rabbi Yitzi and Rishi Hein

Jewish Thought of the Week

Friday, September 6, 2024 - 10:25 AM

"G-d is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? G-d is the stronghold of my life; from whom shall I be frightened?... My adversaries and my enemies against me? They stumbled and fell!"

This week, along with hundreds of thousands of Jews worldwide, I began reciting Psalms 27 twice a day. It’s an ancient tradition during the month of Elul, continuing until Hoshana Rabbah.

But this year, Psalm 27 holds a whole new meaning for me.

On Rosh Chodesh Elul, the very day we began this custom, I received a video clip that shook me to my core. In it, Sapir Cohen shared her incredible story about this very Psalm.

A few months before October 7th, Sapir had an overwhelming feeling that something terrible was going to happen. Convinced it was a terminal illness, she went to her doctor for a full health check. Everything came back normal, but she couldn’t shake the sense that her life was in danger.

In her search for answers, she came across a suggestion online: recite Psalm 27 for 30 days, and it would bring healing from sickness. Desperate for a solution, she did exactly that, saying the Psalm every day for 30 days.

The last day was October 7th.

“I remember how, in the last week of reciting Psalm 27, I started paying closer attention to the words,” Sapir recalled. “I was confused – this Psalm talks about enemies and evildoers, but I wasn’t fighting enemies; I thought I was sick. How did this apply to me?”

But on that fateful day, when terrorists broke into her bomb shelter, Sapir’s fear turned into clarity. “Suddenly, I remembered the words of the Tehillim, and I knew: I would survive.”

Sapir continued reciting the Psalm—the only prayer she knew by heart—every day during her captivity. One day, her captors even asked her if she knew how to pray, and suggested she pray out loud. It was a surreal moment for her, sitting there with her captors, saying King David's words: "My adversaries and my enemies against me? They stumbled and fell!"

Thank G-d, she was released and is now safely back home.

Hearing this story on Rosh Chodesh Elul gave the recitation of Psalm 27 a new significance for me. Thinking of Sapir and her faith, helps me strengthen my own faith.

But unfortunately, we still have many enemies, and many of our brothers and sisters remain in captivity, desperately needing our prayers. As we continue through this month of Elul, let’s unite in saying Psalm 27 daily, hoping for their safe return and for peace.

In the words of the final verse of Psalm 27:

“Hope for the L-rd, be strong, and He will give your heart courage. Hope for the L-rd!”

Wishing you a good Shabbos,

Rabbi Yitzi and Rishi Hein