CHABAD OF RIVERDALE'S - Pro-Found Software, Inc.

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Rabbi Levi & Sorah
SHEMTOV
Dear Friends,
We are all familiar with the expression “a crowning
achievement.” It means a great accomplishment, a lifetime
goal realized, or a dream come true.
Tonight, my dear friends, is a crowning achievement
for Chabad of Riverdale, as we celebrate our 20th
anniversary dinner and 20 years of service to our
community.
By Divine Providence, tonight is also the 20th day of
the Hebrew month of Tevet. A real double header.
The number 20 and the word ‘crown’ will figure prominently
in this letter, as you will see. But first, I want to
share a bit of mysticism.
The number 20 is a significant one in Kabbalastic
teachings. In Hebrew, the word for the number twenty
is ‘esrim’ and if you add up the numerology of the letters
in esrim you get 620 – the same number as the word for crown, keter.
It also turns out that there are exactly 620 letters in the Ten Commandments, the Torah, by which
the Almighty crowned the Jewish nation!
We know that there are no coincidences in life. Everything is Divinely ordained and so this evening
reflects both a spiritual and a physical crowning.
We have recently initiated several new projects in our crown jewel, our educational programs: These
include a Bat Mitzvah Club for girls, a Released Time program for public school students, a
Beginners Learning Service and expanded Pre-teen Groups during Shabbat services.
We are particularly proud to announce that only two months ago, we began a Sunday morning Kollel,
an intensive, interactive learning program for men and women, which is taught by five rabbis. The
inaugural session was attended by over 50 people and is off to a resoundingly successful start.
I am happy to report that these new programs are all winners and together with our existing services,
we have been, thank G-d, crowned with accomplishment and satisfaction.
C H A B A D L U B A V I T C H O F R I V E R D A L E