A New Year, Hope, Torah

Oct 17

The hostages are home. We can finally release the breath we've been holding. And while things are far from normal, we can begin to take a moment to reflect.

Over the past two years, we’ve defined our Jewishness by the phrase: “They wanted to kill us, we won, let’s eat.”

Now comes our defining moment. Our Jewishness is awake, our neshama is plugged in, and our connection to Israel and to the Jew we’ve never met is stronger than ever in our lifetime.

Like everything else in life, this too shall pass. What will we be left with?

It’s providential that the hostages were returned on Erev Simchas Torah, just as we closed out another year of Torah learning. But just as we don’t close the book, we begin it anew. So too must we open a new chapter in our Judaism.

Without the pressure from the outside, do we know who we are? Do we know what it means to be a Jew without the struggle?

It’s time to learn. As we begin reading the Torah anew this Shabbos, do yourself and your soul a kindness and embrace Torah study.

Here are some opportunities:

Kabbalah and Coffee - weekly

Torah Studies - weekly

JLI - The Kabbalah of Meaning - 6 weeks beginning November 4

There are plenty of other opportunities at Chabadintown.org and intownjewishacademy.org

AND

Scholars Society - a New Opportunity for those committed, comes with all kinds of perks plus a $500 voucher for our March trip to Israel.

Don't think about this too much. Just let your soul do the clicking and choose something to study.

Let's be educated Jews in 5786!

Good Shabbos!

Featured

A New Year, Hope, Torah

The hostages are home. We can finally release the breath we've been holding. And while things are far from normal, we can begin to take a moment to reflect.

Surrender to the Dance

Some years ago I was in NY for the annual conference of Shluchim. I saw a friend who had recently celebrated the marriage of his daughter.

Your Presence is Your Present

We each yearn for inner peace. You know when the mind stops churning and the heart is at rest without angst?

For the most part, people are in two groups; Thinkers and Feelers. The Thinkers are constantly analyzing what's going on around them, how they are showing up, what other people think about this or that etc.

We’re One of those Rare Places

Chabad Intown YJP Intown Atlanta is one of those rare places where you can walk in and instantly feel at home—even if you’ve never set foot there before. Services are laid-back, come-as-you-are. We’ve got the “learners’ service,” where men and women sit together, ask questions out loud, and no one pretends to know the Hebrew by heart.

Is Your Food Ready?

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners carried out a dramatic escape from Israel’s Gilboa Prison. Over the course of several months, they had dug a tunnel from the bathroom of their cell using nothing more than spoons, plates, and other makeshift tools.

Gratitude In Two

It's a time of year that we reflect and take stock. Despite all the challenges we've encountered, each of us I pray have blessings in our lives to give thanks and gratitude to Hashem.

It's actually a nice exercise to say the morning blessings and to recognize all the basics that we have; feet, shoes, belts, ability to stand upright, water to wash our face and hands, ability to use the bathroom and the list goes on

War and Marriage

Mira and Moshe, Mazal Tov! It’s done! You are husband and wife.

Mira and Moshe, the Rebbe explains that the Shechinah, the Divine presence, hovers over the couple under the Chuppah, with a revelation that is comparable to the revelation of Sinai and that the marriage is a new covenant between Hashem and the Jewish people through each couple.

A Father’s Hug

Note: We have entered the final month of the Jewish year, the month of Elul. The Alter Rebbe explains its unique energy with a parable: During the year, if one wishes to see the King, he must pass through guards and gates, and only then can he enter the palace. But in Elul, the King Himself goes out into the field. There, every person can approach Him freely. The King greets each one warmly and with a smile.

Jerusalem, Atlanta

Judaism has some very obvious unique core beliefs. Among them is the role that Israel in general and Jerusalem in particular play.

Jerusalem's holiness starts with the creation of Adam and continues with the two Holy Temples that stood there. It begs the question, although we find references to Jerusalem in the Five Books of Moses (eg. Malkizedek the king of Shalem), we don't find the word Jerusalem/Yerushalayim explicitly mentioned as Jerusalem?

A Bit of Moses

As Yom Kippur draws to its close, I often feel myself shifting roles—from spiritual leader to coach—guiding the “team” through the final inning, the last round. We’re all tired. Weeks of preparation, two days of Rosh Hashanah, the deep solemnity of Kol Nidrei, and now a full day of fasting have left everyone—myself included—exhausted.

Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman

A New Year, Hope, Torah

Light Shabbat Candles in Atlanta at 6:43 pm

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Light Shabbat Candles in Atlanta at 6:43 pm -

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