Message from the Rabbi

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1 c"qa 16TH EDITION Rabbi Yosef Y. Marlow Spiritual Leader/Director Mr. Michael Flacks President Mr. Kobi Karp Vice President Rabbi Chaim B. Brody Educational Director Mr. Rami Jeda Mr. David Jeda Building Projects Mrs. Josephine Basher Shifra & Puah Graphic Designer Mrs. Yael Gold Shul Events Mrs. Yocheved Zirkind Communications INSIDE Yom Tov Bulletin Vov Tishrei Event Rebbe Story Chai Elul Highlights Shanah, the Hebrew word for "year," also means "repeat," and yet, it shares the same letters as the word shoneh, meaning "change." In these three letters and their different meanings is summarized perhaps the greatest challenge of life. As time passes, we endeavor that our lives not be merely a series of repetitions, but that instead, they be punctuated by positive and growth-oriented change. Tomorrow should be more than a repeat of yesterday. It should add insight, depth, and joy, lifting us to a deeper level of experience. Otherwise, why would it be there? This is true day by day, and certainly applies year by year. In Yiddishkeit, this isn't just theory. Instead, the spiritual sequence of the year empowers us to realize these goals. The year begins with Rosh HaShanah. Our Chachomim describe the spiritual tone of that holiday, saying that Hashem comes to the Jewish people and tells them: Recite before Me verses of Kingship to make Me king over you." Now a king is not a democratic leader; he is an absolute monarch. His people don't merely look up to him for guidance and directions; they are his subjects. He controls their destiny. What is Rosh HaShanah telling us? That we are not our own men. That lesson comes at the very beginning of the year, because it is fundamental. By defining who we are, we chart the path for our lives. When a person is living for himself, by and large, his live will be determined by his desires and emotions. He will do what he things will make him feel happy. Sometimes, he's looking for immediate gratifications what will satisfy him at the moment. Other times he will be able to control himself and seek long term goals. But even those long term goals have his own satisfaction as their objective. Ultimately, the person is living for his own self-interest, a cat chasing its tail. There are some select individuals who are able to rise above their self-interest. Instead of thinking about that will make them feel happy, they are willing to devote themselves to doing what is good and right. But even they have limitations, because their definition of what is good is subjective. It is shaped by their own understanding and so the cat is still going in circles. The king's man does not live for himself. He lives to carry out the king's will. His own desires and understanding are of little consequence. In this way, man solves the problem of chasing his desires and his own conception of reality, for he steps above them, and instead devotes himself to Hashem. This is the Divine service of Rosh HaShanah. Wishing you all a "SHANAH" Tova U'mesuka! Warmly, Rabbi Yosef Marlow Tishrei 5772 Volume 3 Issue 1 Message from the Rabbi Yom Tov Schedule Children s Programs N shei News Community Happenings Upcoming Events

2 Deena Yellin How to Connect Your Children to the Yomim Noraim Sure, the Rosh Hashanah - Yom Kippur mark the beginning of the Jewish New Year and are a time of introspection, but for many children, the themes behind Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur simply soar over their heads. Some grow bored during long Davening and many feel that these Yomim Tovim of atonement are just for adults. But children are never too young to learn the valuable lessons of forgiveness and transformation. The best way to inspire children to love Yomim Tovim is through tangible experiences that will connect all of their senses to the traditions. Parents can show children that the Yomim Noraim days are not only important, but fun. Here's a list of creative activities you can implement to help bring home to your children the valuable lessons of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. 1. Make a list of resolutions for the Jewish New Year. Encourage your children to write their list on a decorative poster and hang it up. That way, they can check it throughout the year to see how they are keeping up with the list. 2. Write all the bad habits you and your children hope to lose in the coming year on scraps of paper. Then cast them out like you are throwing away your Aveiros during Tashlich. 3. Create Rosh Hashanah cards for relatives and friends. Include the words L'shanah Tovah to wish them a "good year" and allow your children to deliver them or put them in the mailbox. 4. Take your children to a fruit market where they can pick out "first fruits." On the second night of Rosh Hashanah, it's customary to make a Brocha on a fruit you haven't eaten that season. Many people eat pomegranates, which is symbolic because it contains numerous seeds (reminding people of the numerous good deeds they should perform). 5. Encourage your children to help you bake Challoh for Yom Tov. On Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur eve, the Challoh we eat are traditionally round to remind us that the year, like the Jewish life cycle, goes round and round. 6. Help your children create an Apple and Honey Dish to be used at the festival meal, or Tzedokah boxes, so you can explain how Tzedokah is a mitzvah we must focus on during this time of year. 7. Ask your children if there were things during the past year that they wish they had done differently. Create a list of all the things they would like to do better in the coming year. Have them think of the people to whom they would want to show a kindness to, such as a parent, grandparent or teacher. 8. Write letters to yourselves that talk about your hopes for the coming year. List all the ways in which you hope to improve yourself and discuss your vision for who you hope to become. Seal the letter in an envelope until next year. 9. Have a birthday party for the world: Frost a round cake with blue for the oceans and green for the land. Let the children decorate it with animal crackers, flower sprinkles and fish shaped candy. Instead of bringing gifts, let everyone think of a present to give to the world that will make it a better place. 10. Use horns or kazoos to learn about the various blasts of the Shofar that are blown on Rosh Hashanah: Tekiah one long blast Shevarim three medium blasts Teruah (at least) nine short blasts Tekiah Gedolah a final very long blast as long as you can hold your breath. Involving the children also includes time spent discussing the ideas behind the Yomim Tovim. "During the weeks leading up to the Yomim Tovim, let s talk about the meaning behind it, why we do what we do, and what it means to us today. We build up an excitement about it and when it arrives they can't wait. The key is one word: Involvement. If the children feel that they are not on the outside looking in, and that it really isn't just an adult Yom Tov, then it won't lose all meaning for them."

3 There will be a special Children's Hakofos immediately following Ma'ariv both nights of Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah Remember to make an Eruv Tavshilin on Wednesday, Erev Yom Tov! (Before Rosh Hashonoh, before Sukkos, and before Shemini Atzeres) Shofar Blowing for Women Rabbi Marlow will be available in the Shul Sukkah from 3:00-4:00pm on Wednesday, Erev Sukkos to assist anyone with the assembling of their Lulavim at the home of Mrs. Allona Pinhas 850 NE 175th Street at 9:00 am There will IYH be a special Shofar Blowing for Women on both days of Rosh Hashonoh

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5 Wednesday Don't forget to make an Eruv Tavshillin Wednesday night/rosh Hashonoh Candle lighting: 6:53pm Thursday/Rosh Hashonoh Ladies Shofar blowing 9:00am - home of Allona Pinhas Shacharis 9:30am (szks 10:10am) Shofar blowing 12:00pm approx Mincha 6:00pm Tashlich following Mincha Candle lighting: After 7:44pm Friday/Rosh Hashonoh Ladies Shofar blowing 9:00am - home of Allona Pinhas Shacharis 9:30am Shofar blowing 12:00pm approx Mincha 6:50pm Candle lighting: 6:51pm Farbrengen following Mincha Shabbos Shuva Chassidus 8:45am Shacharis 9:30am Shiur 6:05pm Mincha 6:50pm Sunday/Tzom Gedalia Fast begins 6:05am Shacharis 8:00am & 9:00am Mincha 6:40pm Fast Ends 7:30pm Mincha - rest of the week 6:55pm Friday/Erev Yom Kippur Shacharis - 6:30am, 7:30am, 8:30am Mincha 3:30pm Fast begins 6:44pm Kol Nidrei 7:00pm Shkiyah 7:02pm Shabbos/Yom Kippur Shacharis 10:00am (szks 10:12am) Yizkor 1:00pm approx Mincha t/b/a Fast Ends 7:35pm Mincha - rest of the week 6:50pm Sunday 8:30 am - Chassidus Shiur. 10:00 am - Breakfast and Gemara with Rabbi Menachem Smith. Between Mincha & Maariv - Ein Yaakov (or Halocha before Yomim Tovim) After Maariv - Gemara with Rabbi Mendelsohn. Monday Between Mincha & Maariv - Ein Yaakov (or Halocha before Yomim Tovim) 9:00 pm - Chassidus with Rabbi Chaim Drizin. Tuesday Between Mincha & Maariv - Ein Yaakov (or Halocha before Yomim Tovim) After Maariv - Mishmar: Mini Shiurim and Chevrusa Learning. Wednesday Between Mincha & Maariv - Ein Yaakov (or Halocha before Yomim Tovim) 8:30 pm - Chassidus with Simcha Gottlieb at his home. Thursday Between Mincha & Maariv - Ein Yaakov (or Halocha before Yomim Tovim) Friday Between Mincha & Kabolas Shabbos - Dvar Torah on the Parsha Shabbos 45 minutes before Mincha - Gemorrah Between Mincha & Ma ariv - Seder Nigunim and a Ma amor. After Ma ariv - The Living Torah video of the Rebbe.

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7 ...Stories of our Rebbes Stories of our Rebbes Stories of our Rebbes A Story of a Baal Teshuva The entire city was gathered around the old Rabbi's house waiting for the inevitable; the Rabbi of the community was on his deathbed. He had been an excellent leader for almost seventy years. Wise, loving, knowledgeable and even stern and unyielding when necessary. Inside the house the dying Rabbi called his beloved pupil, Reb Avraham, to his side, asked him to bend closer and, in the presence of the elders of the community put his frail hands on his head and appointed him as his successor. Moments later he said "Shma Yisroel." Closed his eyes and returned his soul to its Creator. It was no surprise to anyone. Reb Avraham was a Torah genius, and a powerful speaker and leader. His fear of G-d and his knowledge were remarkable and had been at the Rabbi's side constantly since he mysteriously arrived some ten years ago. In fact, no one actually saw him arrive. Just one day the Rabbi was seen leaving his house with a young man that he said 'had arrived several months ago' and since then they never parted. But it was a small detail. No one doubted Reb Avraham's credentials. After the days of mourning Reb Avraham began to fill the old Rabbi's place and everything returned to normal. He was busy day and night with the questions and problems of the community; making sure everything was according to Torah, making peace, deciding monetary issues, resolving quarrels, providing for the sick etc. But one day an unusual problem arouse; a madman entered their village. He was filthy, disheveled, barefoot and was constantly jumping grunting like an animal or talking incoherently. And he was Jewish; occasionally he spouted sayings from the Talmud or from Psalms but he was very insane. So the elders of the village went to Reb Avraham to ask him to pray for the unfortunate fellow. But Reb Avraham refused. "What? Are my prayers any more potent than yours that I can exempt you from praying? Tonight we will all gather in the Synagogue and pray for him together. An half hour later they were all saying Psalms and, strangely enough, the madman was there too, walking in a small circle in the corner looking at the ground before him and mumbling to himself non-stop. But as soon as they finished the book for the first time and saw it had no effect Reb Avraham began to speak words of inspiration. The madman stood still, pointed a finger at Reb Avraham and yelled out to the startled crowd. "What! He is going to inspire you? He is your Rabbi? Heh!! Why he and I sinned together! We left the Torah together!! Heh heh!! I'll even tell you the sins we did! Why, everything the worst gentiles do we did; we ate what they ate, drank what they drank and acted like they acted!! This you call your Rabbi??" The entire congregation was stunned. Now he was getting offensive maybe he'll become violent. It was insanity. They all turned to the Rabbi to see what he would say, ready to throw the fellow out at a moment's notice. The room was filled with silence, it was obvious that their Rabbi was going through some sort of inner turmoil and they were waiting to see the outcome. Several minutes passed and all eyes were on him. "He's right!" Reb Avraham answered quietly. "Everything he said is true!" Again he was silent for several more minutes until finally he stood straight and said in a loud voice. "And I thank G-d for this moment!" The crowd let out a gasp! And Reb Avraham continued. "Over twenty years ago we learned Torah together. We were both from the finest, most G-d fearing families and we excelled in our studies. Everyone predicted great things from us. But somehow we fell. It began slowly, we began reading foolish books, then hanging around with the gentiles until we decided to leave Judaism altogether and enjoy life. Just as he said. "After a few years of this we finally parted our ways. I went into business while he went to university to learn philosophy. We wrote occasionally but finally we lost contact completely. I succeeded fantastically, married a gentile woman, built myself a castle with a huge estate and lived like royalty; no one had any inkling that I was a Jew I even forgot it myself. "But then one day when I was taking a stroll in one of my forests my dog began barking, broke away from me and ran to a spot not far from us. I approached and there lay the body of a dead Jew. "Probably some anti-semite gentile murdered him" I thought to myself. "Suddenly my entire being became filled with mercy. I called for my servants and ordered them to bury the man and put a marker on his grave. But from that moment something happened to me. "I felt as though G-d sent this to awaken me to my true self. It was a sort of miracle. "A few weeks later I went to the city, presented myself to the local Rabbi and told him I wanted to repent. At first he thought that I was a gentile and was either insane or trying to get him into trouble but finally he believed me. It was another miracle. "He advised me to take a bag of money, write a note to my wife giving her all my riches and to flee to a Rabbi friend of his in a distant place to learn Torah. And that is what I did. "That was when I arrived here over ten years ago. I purposely arrived in the dead of night so no one would see me. I took to the Torah like a fish to water. In fact with our Rabbi's guidance I remembered everything I had learned as a boy and in just a short time I became quite a scholar. But although I became the Rabbi of your community I somehow felt that it all happened too quickly and easily. "Just now my first reaction was to have this fellow thrown out of the Synagogue. Then my second reaction was to deny it and then tonight, run away myself. I was ashamed to the bone. But now I realize that this too was a miracle of G-d; perhaps even more than the first miracles. Now let's all pray for my friend." As soon as they all finished the next Psalm the sick fellow suddenly became calm, a normal expression returned to his face and he fell heavily into his seat a cured man. HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CHAI ELUL FARBRENGEN One of our highlighted annual occasions is a Farbrengen on Chai Elul (18th of Elul), commemorating the birth of the two great Luminaries, the Baal Shem Tov the founder of Chassidus, and Rabbi Shneur Zalman the developer of Chabad Chassidus, consecutively bringing a new life and energy to Jewry. This year we were privileged to host Rabbi Yossi Paltiel a widely sought out mentor and lecturer as Scholar-in-Residence for Shabbos. The Farbrengen extended late into the afternoon and was very inspiring. Rabbi Paltiel spoke about the contribution of Chassidus towards the service of Teshuva, especially during the days of Elul and Tishrei; that it should be performed out of happiness and love, because the King who judges us is truly our Father. He also spoke about the importance of Gemara study, and how it be benefits our lives and the lives of our family.

8 Spending an evening with friends surrounded by chocolate was pure bliss. Strawberries, pretzels, biscotti, cookies and more, all smothered and covered in chocolate. With a light dessert buffet focusing the attention on the chocolate, women chatted and tasted. Most of us cheated and tasted again. With a heightened sweet tooth, Rabbi Chay Amar ushered in the New Year with inspiration how to maximize these special moments of Chodesh Elul to its fullest through growth and unlocking our spiritual potential which has no limits. It was a delectable event perfect to accompany the coming of a sweet New Year. N shei wishes you a year of joy, Nachas, health and prosperity with many occasions to celebrate and decorate with chocolate!

9 Birthdays 1 Tishrei Pnina Aaronson 2 Tishrei Masha Weinfeld 3 Tishrei Dovid Lazerson 4 Tishrei Zev Greenbaum 5 Tishrei Allona Pinhas 7 Tishrei Shmuel Druin 8 Tishrei Nechama Dina Greenbaum 15 Tishrei Yehuda Kalman Marlow 17 Tishrei Hershel Basher 21 Tishrei Hadassah Aber 23 Tishrei Reena Basher 25 Tishrei Shoshana Frydberg 26 Tishrei Mendy Marlow We apologize for any errors or omissions we may have made. PLEASE SHARE YOUR NACHAS WITH US! your family's birthdays to sarahkopfstein@gmail.com or call Baby Girl Zev & Anya Lenchus Bar Mitzvah Meir Yehudah Shifrin Engagements Racheli Rosenwasser to Avi Raksin Fraidy Kagan to Hersh Loschak Chazoni Stein to Esther (Esty) Ben- Shoaff Condolences to Rabbi Gedaliah Druin Hamokoim Yenachem Eschem Besoich Sha'ar Availay Tzion ViYerusholoyim We are looking for Stories, articles, personal Jewish experiences and more. sarahkopfstein@gmail.com to partner with us and contribute to our publication.

10 Tel: Web: Davening Schedule Kinus Torah N shei Event Vov Tishrei Tuesday evening 6 Tishrei - October 8:00 pm Children s Sukkos Bash 5:30pm - 8:30 pm Chol Hamoed Sukkos - October 16 Monday night after Ma ariv Chol Hamoed Sukkos - October 17 Shacharis: Sunday 8:00, 9:00 am Mon Fri 6:30, 7:30, 8:30 am Shabbos 9:30 am Shabbos Mevorchim 8:30 Tehillim / 10:00 am Shacharis Yom Tov 10:00 am Chol Hamoed 6:30, 7:30, 8:30, 10:00 am Mincha: Everyday - 10 min. before Shkiyah Shabbos 15 min. before Shkiyah Ma'ariv: B'zman