Toy Esrogs

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Toy Esrogs

The Grouchy Neighbor Who Brought Me Closer to G-d

 
Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "The Grouchy Neighbor Who Brought Me Closer to G-d."

Thankfully, nothing terrible happened, but it's these everyday slights and provocations that can really hurt our feelings and end up pushing us away from G-d and Judaism.

However, I realized that G-d sends me certain encounters so that I can reflect, write about them, and share with you some things that really aren't the Torah way. We all have to deal with difficult people and challenging situations, but fundamentally and always, G-d is all good and wants us to turn to Him despite and even because of these happenstances.

While there is no such thing as hurt, insult, embarrassment, or suffering that is trivial, I hope that G-d will bless us to see past the pain of life and continue to find our way to embrace Him with all our heart, as well as to forgive our neighbors.

(AI Generated Image by Andy Blumenthal)

The Grouchy Neighbor Who Brought Me Closer to G-d

Bringing the Community Together this Sukkot

 

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called "Bringing the Community Together this Sukkot."

Like in all socio-economic caste systems, the Rabbi who was managing the sale of the lulav and esrog for the upcoming holiday of Sukkot differentiated between three types and offered the following: Aleph (the most expensive), Bet (medium priced), and Gimel (the least expensive), and all were supposed to be full sets, but they weren't.

This led me to reflect on all the different ways that we compete with and classify each other instead of valuing each person and acting like a real community (with an emphasis on "unity"). Really, it's a million things, from who can afford the better bar mitzvah to who makes the more lavish wedding; who is rated grade A for matchmaking, and who is considered to have a "mum" (defect) and be less or undesirable; who gets the prime kovod (honors) in the synagogue, and who never even gets called to the Torah for an Aliyah.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Bringing the Community Together this Sukkot

Kid's Play Sukkah

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Kid's Play Sukkah

Esrog Liquor

 

Esrog after Sukkot is a beautiful flavoring for alcohol. 

Compliments of Itzchak. 

Yum yum! ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Esrog Liquor

Chabad Downtown Fort Lauderdale Sukkot Carnival

(Credit Video: Andy Blumenthal)

Chabad Downtown Fort Lauderdale Sukkot Carnival

Turning Nakba to Babka

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called Turning Nabka to Babka. 

The term Nakba, in relation to Israel, was actually was first used in August 1948 by Syrian Professor Constantin Zureiq not to condemn anything Israel did to the Palestinians, but rather is a call for the Arabs themselves whereby:

We must admit our mistakes…and recognize the extent of our responsibility for the disaster that is our lot.

The displacement of the Palestinians and their refugee problem is attributed not primarily to Israel, but rather to the mistakes that the Palestinians and Arabs made themselves! So, while, the Arabs and Palestinians have tried to make Israel into the aggressor and blame them for their troubles, the truth of the matter is that the Palestinians Nakba is to a great extent caused by their own religious intolerance, gross hatred of the Jews, including the desire for their genocide, and that this has led them down a true disastrous path of Middle East recklessness and extremely bad decision making, over and over again.

The goods news is that in more recent times, the Arab nations are thank G-d changing their hostile approach to Israel and instead moving to make peace. Not only Egypt (1979) and Jordan (1993), but in the last year with the Abraham Accords with both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as with Sudan and Morocco normalizing relations with Israel. Even this morning, I was amazed once again to read an editorial in the Wall Street Journal calling for Iraq to join the Abraham Accords too! Of course, the hope is that more and more Arab countries as well as the Palestinians will choose the path of peace and collaboration with Israel, as Ben-Gurion had originally held out to them in 1948 (it’s never too late). The prophetic vision of swords turning to ploughshares is perhaps today’s turning of the shedding of tears and assigning blame over a perceived Nakba into sitting down together on Sukkot for a nice piece (peace) of chocolate babka!

(Credit Photo: Andrea via Flikr )

Turning Nakba to Babka

Sunflowers For Shabbat Shalom

Love these beautiful sunflowers. 

Perfect for enhancing the Shabbat and holidays!

The sunflowers provide warmth and happiness for the honor of these special and spiritual days!

May Hashem in His abundant mercy grant us a full healing and peace to welcome the Shabbat and to celebrate this weekend a joyous Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach! ;-)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Sunflowers For Shabbat Shalom

Sukkot: A Time of Divine Protection

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, "Sukkot: A Time of Divine Protection."

Sukkot is the Jewish Festival of Shelter and of Ingathering.  

In these challenging times of coronavirus and before this eventful election, more than usual, we need G-d’s blessings to shelter and protect us, and to bless both the United States of America and the State of Israel that they should be safe for all of us and that the “ingathering” be not only of the harvest, but of all the exiles from the four corners of the earth to G-d’s Promised Land for the final redemption.

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Sukkot: A Time of Divine Protection

Reaping What You Sow: Adam and Adamah

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel, Sukkot: A Time of Man and Earth. 

"In celebrating Sukkot, we compare Adam and Adamah. Just like a man is dependent on seeding his teachings and good deeds which then leads to reaping his personal life harvest, so too the earth is dependent on seeding and watering which leads to harvesting its produce."

Hope you enjoy and Chag Sameach.  ;-)

(Inspired by a movie of a farmer in Bishvil-Haivrit)

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal) 

Reaping What You Sow: Adam and Adamah

Chabad Making A Difference

Beautiful job by Rabbi Yudi Steiner of George Washington University hosting the Chabad Sukkot Barbecue in Washington, D.C.

The Rabbi was there welcoming students and Jews from around town to a sweet BBQ luncheon in the sukah. 

And the students were making the blessing with the Rabbi on the lulav and esrog for the holiday.

As always, Chabad is out there making a difference in Jewish lives, helping them do mitzvot, and spreading cheer and unity wherever they are. 

We are so lucky to have wonderful Lubavitch chasidim all around the world helping Jews be better Jews. ;-)

(Source Photos: Andy Blumenthal)

Chabad Making A Difference

Going With Happiness

We went to synagogue yesterday and the Sukkot celebration today at Chabad in Downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Such lovely warm and welcoming people--thank you Rabbi and Rebbetzin Schneur for your very gracious hospitality.

My wife and I both cried at the services and in getting in touch with our inner Torah spirituality.

Somehow, Chabad brings out the best in others, and they did it with us as well.

Here I stood next to the picture of the Rebbe and I looked into his eyes and was strengthened.

I remember many years ago, Dossy and I went to visit at Chabad headquarters in Crown Heights, New York and we received a blessing from the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

He told my wife to always go with happiness ("B'sever panim yafot").

Today was a little fulfillment of that. ;-)

(Source Photo: Dossy Blumenthal)

Going With Happiness