Might As Well Do It

Why do they hate us so? Many reasons have been given, but after all the discussions, it boils down to the fact that we are G-d's People and they just have a hard time with that. Own it friend!
What does it mean to be G-d's People?
Hashem gave us the Torah (please celebrate this anniversary with us) and in it are the instructions how to be G-d's People.
Some of these instructions are about religious things, like Shabbat, Kosher and blowing the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah. But the real stuff is in this week's Torah portion.
The portion is called Kedoshim. G-d asks us to be holy like He is holy. Being holy is about the small things. Things like; how we eat, how we talk and how we treat each other.
In all of our most mundane activities, the actions that are done by all of humankind, we have the opportunity to uncover the G-dliness that is in it and to connect to Hashem and become holy through them.
We can help those that wish to hate us, but we can at least own it. Let's live as proud Jews in all that we do.
Good Shabbos!
With all my love,
Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman
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In this week's Torah portion, hired by Balaak the king of Moab, the prophet Bilaam attempts to curse the Jews. In a series of shaming and even comedic (talking donkey - think Shrek) Balaam is forced to bless the Jews with a series of blessings that are of the greatest the Jewish People have ever received.
It’s a box that I moved into long before I had basic self-awareness. The box is the lenses through which I look at the world. It’s how I show up for good or for ugly. It’s how I perceive others and judge (sometimes even being judgmental – shocker) what I experience.
I'm getting it, more and more. And as I get it, I develop much more compassion towards others, more accepting of their limitations and how that bumps up against me and my jagged edges but also inner strength.
Let me begin at the end. I have always admired Chabad. Their passion and commitment to every Jew, no matter their level of observance, is one of the most beautiful aspects of this unique and outstanding movement. I have had so many great experiences interacting with different leaders of Chabad that perhaps naively, I thought I knew everything there was to know about Chabad… That was until this past Shabbat.
There is much discussed in the good books about the role we play in our own destiny. Are some people doomed to remain farkvetched (squeezed) while others fortunate to live in abundance? And do we have the ability to change that? I'm going to leave the theological question for others.
Have you ever gone through a challenging time in your life (who hasn’t!?) I have. A common refrain I hear—whether in my own head or in someone else's voice—is that someone else has it a lot worse than you.
It reminded me of the saying in Hayom Yom: in material matters, look toward those who have less than you; and in spiritual matters, look toward those who are on a higher spiritual plane.
In contrast to their image of the downtrodden Eastern European Jew, the Zionist fathers wanted to train the young in good posture to demonstrate the Zionistic Pride.
Today, this rejection of the Old Jew and embrace of the New Jew takes on a different form. It revolves around pride in the ingenuity of Israeli's, their role in High Tech, their dedication to helping in crises around the world, being the most moral army, and of course pride in the IDF.
Are you bemoaning your circumstances? Are you finding the good in it?
What are your discussions about these days? Israel. Anti Semitism. Are you finding other things to talk about? Are you finding the silver lining?
Non-Jews respect Jews who respect Judaism, and they are embarrassed by Jews who are embarrassed by Judaism.“ — Rabbi Sacks.
Dan Senor in his State of Jewry addressed what Jews ought to be doing in the wake of the rise of antisemitism that we've experienced since October 7, 2023. And it is...
LIVE JEWISH!
Why do they hate us so? Many reasons have been given, but after all the discussions, it boils down to the fact that we are G-d's People and they just have a hard time with that. Own it friend!