The Shul

A Special Message from
Rabbi Sholom D. Lipskar
Dear community member,
We find ourselves on the threshold of Rosh Hashana and Yom
Kippur, a time when even the unaffiliated are moved and
reminded of their Jewish heritage. This sense of
conscientiousness must awaken in us a sense of responsibility
ensuring that we help those infrequently expressed feelings turn
into a fully developed experience of Jewish tradition, belonging
and practice.
Then there’s “the lost child,” those who unfortunately are utterly
distant from their Jewish roots, completely oblivious to the
special energy this time of the year brings. They require an even
greater measure of our attention, emphasizing that a Jew is
never detached from his Jewishness and it is never too late to
gradually initiate a meaningful and personal relationship with
Almighty G-d.
King David writes in his book of psalms, “It is G-d who guides
the steps of men.” It is by the absolute Divine Providence that
you live in your specific environs and have your precise
neighbors, since every soul has a singular mission to fulfill in a
particular space.
Before the High Holidays, I request of you to please take the
time to visit three of your Jewish neighbors, families with whom
you do not normally have any sort of Jewish interaction. The
purpose of the meeting is to ask them to consider participating
in the festivities of this special upcoming month of Tishrei,
encourage them to attend High Holiday services, to hear the
Shofar and to generally increase and amplify their relationship
with Hashem, each according to his/her respective level.
I am confident that with your active participation reaching out
to every Jew in the 33154 area, we could make a real difference
and begin this new 5770 year in an “over the top” manner
preparing for the coming of our righteous Moshiach when no
Jew will be left behind.
Doing this you will join the army of the Rebbe’s Shluchim who
are on the front lines to prepare the world for the Ultimate
Redemption.
With Torah greetings and blessings and best wishes for a good
and sweet new year.
With love and esteem,
Sholom D. Lipskar
PS If you visited any of your Jewish neighbors please let
us know so that we can reach out to them for future
events at The Shul.
Inspiration, Insights & Ideas
Bringing Torah lessons to LIFE!
High Holiday Messages
Spiritual Throw-aways
By Baruch Emanuel Erdstein
I
n the traditional Tashlich ceremony, on the afternoon of Rosh
Hashana (except when it is Shabbat), we go to a body of
living water, and beseech G-d to forgive us for our
transgressions. The prayers that we recite there (printed in nearly
every Siddur) are based on a verse from Prophets: "He will again
have compassion upon us; He will suppress our iniquities. And
Thou will cast all their sins in the depths of the sea." (Micah 7:19)
The concept of sin is one that manifests itself in the spiritual
reality; the "sea" referred to in the verse above hardly refers to
waters of the physical world. How can we literally cast a spiritual
quality into a material entity?
When "the sea", or any
water, is considered
metaphorically to exemplify
the power to nullify beyond
retrieval, as well as purify,
we can understand the
Tashlich ceremony to be a
sort of meditative aid in our
process of genuine
repentance. We wish to truly
Rosh Hashana Meditation
From the wisdom of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson;
words and condensation by Tzvi Freeman
Rosh Hashana is the beginning--not only of this new
year, but of all years previous.
How could that be? Because on that day you are
empowered to reach back into time and adjust the
meaning of all that has past.
True, He is the Author. But He has assigned us as
editors. We adapt the storyline, transform the plot. By
transforming who we are today, we rewrite our own
past and author a whole new world.
11
leave behind all of our past transgressions and personal faults,
emerging cleansed in a state of renewal - and Tashlich is a
dramatic way of emphasizing such aspirations.
In addition, every action which we perform in this physical world
has a spiritual counterpart in the Higher Worlds. By performing
certain actions with the proper concentration, we actually do
affect the higher, spiritual reality; this is one of the basic reasons
in Jewish mystical tradition for the performance of all mitzvot.
This Rosh Hashanah, may we merit to approach the life-giving
source of all divine beneficence, our spiritual "stains" washed
away.
(Written originally for Askmoses.com)
Every action which
we perform in this
physical world has a
spiritual counterpart
in the Higher
Worlds….