Search:

Holidays

Aug 15 2018

Happy Renewed Year

Elul, Holidays, New Year
by Chabad Intown

Happy birthday world. The world will be 5779 years old this Rosh Hashanah. (To be precise, that takes place on the 25th of Elul. Rosh Hashanah is the sixth day of Creation, the day Adam and Eve were created. That will be the subject of another article.)   What is the opposite of old? When we think in terms of people and their birthdays we think the opposite of old is young. When we think of things or perhaps to our topic we can see that the real opposite of old is...

0 Comments
Share Post
Aug 07 2018

Preparation of Love

Elul, Holidays, Lifestyle, Moshiach, New Year
by Chabad Intown

This Shabbos is Rosh Chodesh Elul. It is the last day of the month of Av and Sunday will be the first day of Elul.   Elul is the month of preparation for Rosh Hashanah and the New Year.   In preparation for Rosh Hashanah, I would like to explore ideas connected to the High Holiday season. I’d like to journey beyond the apples and honey, beyond the fasting of Yom Kippur and the flag waving on Simchas Torah.   Let’s start this week with Rosh Hashanah.   What is it really that we are doing on Rosh...

0 Comments
Share Post
May 16 2018

The Forgotten Most Important Holiday

Holidays, Lifestyle, Relationships
by Chabad Intown

Matzah, Shofar, Sukkah, Fasting, Menorah, Graggers – these conjure up warm fuzzies about our Jewish connection. They remind us of those special times during the year when we sit around the table with our family and friends and celebrate our Judaism.   But there is one holiday that seems to fall through the crack and there is an element to this holiday that makes it more important than all the other holidays.   Relationships: There are two types of relationships; there is the pleasure relationship and the compelling relationship. Pleasure relationships are those relationships that...

0 Comments
Share Post
Mar 21 2018

All who are hungry…

Children, Holidays, Loving-Kindness, Passover, Rebbe
by Chabad Intown

We're all very familiar with the four sons or four children of the Seder (you can read a deeper insight into the Seder and the four sons by Dena here).   Did you know there's a fifth son or fifth child? And I have news for you! You actually know that person.   You see the fifth child is the child who is not present at the Seder.   It's not that they are not wise and have rationally concluded that there is no need to go to a Seder. Because they are wise.   It's not that...

0 Comments
Share Post
Dec 13 2017

Fight, Flight or Fly Higher

Change, Holidays, Lifestyle
by Chabad Intown

How do we react to challenge? Do we fight back or do we run away?   Back in the day when there was ongoing blatant anti-semitism, Jews needed to fortify themselves to maintain their identity so by and large we fought back. Not always with guns and swords but with greater resolve to be faithful to G-d and Judaism. Of course there were those who ran away and attempted to assimilate so as not to "stand out".   Although today there surely is anti-semitism but by and large the world is a much more...

0 Comments
Share Post
Oct 04 2017

Time to Hug!

Challenges, Holidays, Lifestyle, New Year, Relationships
by Chabad Intown

It's been a rough week for all of us, it's time for a hug!   The Sukkah walls will hug us beginning this evening and for the next 8 days. It's the Divine embrace that each of us will draw from for the rest of the year. An embrace that provides each of us with the resources we need to live a more G-dly and goodly life this year!   The joy of Sukkos is fully realized on account of the 4 Kinds (Lulav, Ethrog, Hadasim and Aravos). The analogy of each of the...

0 Comments
Share Post
Sep 13 2017

Standing With the Water Carriers

Holidays, Lifestyle, New Year, Tishrei
by Chabad Intown

This past week we experienced a calling to open our homes, our lives to share with others. People were in need and we were there to respond. Not everyone gets their name in the paper for their acts of kindness, but they are kind nonetheless.   Why is it that people open their homes to complete strangers in a time of need? Perhaps the urgency pressures us to access parts of ourselves that remain concealed in peaceful times.   In fact this idea is reflected in the opening of this week's Torah portion, which...

0 Comments
Share Post
Aug 30 2017

Shiny Penny Syndrome

Challenges, Holidays, Lifestyle, New Year
by Chabad Intown

The nature of the human is that the things we can't have, things that are inaccessible, difficult to achieve or expensive are the those we want most.   When things are easily accessible or common we often times disregard their value.   ***   During the month leading up to Rosh Hashanah, the Holy Baal Shem Tov says that G-d is accessible to each and every one. He uses an analogy of a king who comes out of the palace and goes out to the field where the common man is and he smiles to them...

0 Comments
Share Post
May 25 2017

The Art of Gifting

Children, Holidays, Lifestyle, Rebuilding
by Chabad Intown

With the school year coming to a close, there is much ado about gifts: gifts for the teachers, gifts for the graduates and let’s hope at least a pat on the back for yourself as the parent.   I got my child safely through another nine months of schooling. Healthy lunches, clean clothes, homework and science projects. All done. For now. Yay me (times eight).   In the early years of the Intown Jewish Preschool, which I founded, the parents would ask me about arranging different end-of-year gifts for the teachers. A cute apron...

0 Comments
Share Post
Apr 14 2017

The Messiah is Coming, Sunday!

Holidays, Moses, Passover
by Chabad Intown

You have heard the statement Think Globally Act Locally. The cynic in me says yeah right. I've been thinking globally and acting locally since I was a child but have I changed the world? I like to believe that I am contributing to some level of positive change in the world, but will I ever really change the global picture? And even if my efforts will change the world in three generations time, do I want to be dedicating my life to changing the world for my grandchildren? And finally,...

0 Comments
Share Post