farbrengen

B”H

A LITTLE NOSH FOR THE SOUL COMPLIMENTS OF CHABAD OF GREATER DAYTON FALL 2009 / TISHREI 5770

THE 7
ISSUE behind the scenes:
NUTS & BOLTS OF A
inside:
BETTER WORLD
my life
of LIES
feature:
a rabbi’s WHY I THINK THE
apology to MOSHIACH
MONEY
IS COMING
i don’t
have a
DREAM

THINK...
small.

HOLIDAY
GUIDE
INSIDE
 farbrengen
2.75

DEDICATED TO THE LOVE

AND INSPIRATION OF THE
LUBAVITCHER REBBE

ON THE COVER
Dear Friend,
{editor's note}
building a better world...
Please enjoy this online version of our magazine. The holiday of Rosh
WITH A MITZVAH? Hashanah marks the Jewish New Year and is a time of renewal for the
ILOPUK[O
6=<;*74 In 1998, when we published
world. The unique magazine you hold in your hands will help you re-
),;;,9> our first magazine, no one Jew-vinate and will feed your Jewish mind and heart.
was talking about carbon
MLH[\YL! foot prints. It seems that
May this year be a sweet year of blessing for you and your family, and
>/@0; nowadays all you hear about let us pray that by igniting our soul, by inspiring our minds, the world
57
1 is the impact our activities around us will follow. And soon we will all be blessed with the coming
have on the environment. We of Moshiach speedily in our days.
shop differently and eat dif-
ferently and many of us have Wishing you a sweet New Year,
made a life style change that clearly indicates that our
everyday actions have an impact on the environment Sincerely,
and the world around us. As a Jew, I’ve been watching
the mitzvah foot print that started back at Mount Sinai. I
Rabbi Nochum Mangel
view each holiday ritual and each Jewish act as having Director, Chabad of Greater Dayton
a major impact on the world around us. Perhaps we
can call mitzvot the building blocks of the New World. PS: I hope you will join us for the High Holidays.
With this in mind we hired art director Nechama Marcus
and Award Winning photographer Levi Tenenbaum
to create what it really looks like when we sound the
shofar or perform any righteous act. And it looks good.
The sages tell us that the foot print or impact of a good
deed never goes away. And that’s good thing.
So, enjoy this issue of our magazine and I hope it helps
you see your every good deed as the nuts and bolts of
what it takes to build a better world.
Happy Reading,
Rabbi Shmuel Marcus, Editor

This issue is brought to you by the number 7. 2.75

>>About the photographer Levi Tenenbaum:

Levi is an award winning photographer currently based in

Los Angeles California. Having completed both Yeshivah and
studies in photography, he fuses his Talmudic talents with
his savvy photographer’s eye. His artistic direction? “Reality
is where I live every day. Composing hyper-real imagery
allows me to live beyond those restrictions.”

Farbrengen Magazine is published by

Chabad of Greater Dayton
2001 Far Hills Avenue, Dayton, OH 45419
Phone: 937-643-0770
E-mail: chabad@chabaddayton.com
Website: www.chabaddayton.com

EDITOR IN CHIEF: Rabbi Chaim N. Cunin

EDITOR: Rabbi Shmuel Marcus
DISTRIBUTION: Rabbi Avraham Green
MANAGING EDITOR: Beth Rosen
COPY EDITORS: Eli Marcus, Lisa Burstein
CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe, Rabbi Yosef
Marcus, Dr. Ben Sherman, Rabbi Shmuel Marcus,
EDITORIAL CONSULTANTS: Rabbi Levi Cunin (Jay Leno’s
Rabbi), Yosef Marcus
ART DIRECTOR & DESIGN: Nechama Marcus
contact: nechamadesign@gmail.com SoulQuest begins the week of November 1,
COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: Levi Tenenbaum
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS: Sarah Lehat, Ruvi Leider, Marc Lumer in over 300 cities worldwide.
SPECIAL THANKS TO: Uri, Dina, Natan, Yitzchak, Moshe and
Gilana Sara Pikover for continuing the Rebbe’s Farbrengen. Join us!
Website: www.farbrengen.com
©2009 by Chabad of California
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce any portion of
Farbrengen in any form, without prior written permission from the
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Printed in the USA

ALL THINGS BIBLICALLY SEVEN >> 7 weeks counting to receive the torah // first verse in the torah contains 7 words // the bride circles the groom 7 times under the chuppah // tefillin straps
000
 Soul
Ben Sherman
of Farbrengen
Magazine dons
the gas mask
for the grating
room with Marc
Gold of Gold’s.
Why You Don’t
Know Borscht!
By Dr. Ben Sherman
I asked the girl in
the green Starbucks
apron for a “Grande
Iced Borscht with
3 pumps of Schav.”
She said “With room
for cream?” No she
didn’t. You see, the Russian-style beet and
cabbage borscht, served hot as soup or cold
as beer, is part of the culinary repertoire
of Jews hailing from Eastern Europe. But,
sadly, this traditional beverage is just a
mystery to most Americans. For me, there
was always a cold jar of red borscht in
my grandmother’s Brooklyn fridge. It was
something my zaidy drank while he read
the Yiddish daily. Yet, as the years went
on and Yiddish daily’s turned into English
Weekly’s, red borscht was set to be soon
forgotten.
Recently, I convinced my editor to fly me to
New York and I went to meet Marc Gold. He
is one of the only people that still produces
that classic red jar of borscht and that’s
when I finally got my Grande Iced Borscht.
Marc is a borscht connoisseur who’s first
job as a five-year-old was to slash boxes
of red horseradish with a red ink marker.
Marc was too young to to work the family
conveyer belt, he was barley able to make
an x. There is nothing like a good story
over cold borscht. I was about to enjoy the
Marc Gold story. It all started in 1932, when
Marc’s grandparents, Tillie and Hyman
Gold, grated horseradish roots, filled jars
Bling
spot any soul bling recently?
Send us your comments to editor@farbrengen.com
food judaica
The Lulav &
Etrog Shake
For thousands of years, the
Jewish People have fulfilled
the biblical mitzvah to “Take
for yourself a beautiful
fruit and the palm
power: kosher-style
branch.” Known as
the four kinds, your
It sounds like the beginning of a joke; “A rabbi, Lulav and Etrog set is
a doctor and an entrepreneur get together,” used everyday (except
but the punch line is: seriously great tasting Shabbat) during the
protein bars! The secrets are in the doctor’s festival of Sukkot. To
SmartFoods Technology™, with a little help get your own Lulav and
from the Kabbalah. The all new bars are “Cholov Etrog set, contact your
Yisroel”, made with whey protein supervised in local Chabad.
a centuries old tradition. Order your power bars www.chabad.org/centers
online at www.actionnutrition.net
Price: Peanut Butter Chocolate $1.99 ea.
Peanut Butter Chocolate $1.59 ea.
you can’t blow
this shofar off
Marc Gold of Gold’s
donning Tefillin with
Rabbi Yossi Lieberman.
Always dreamed of owning
and pasted labels, all a 29”-32” Yemenite shofar? This
by hand while sitting Rosh Hashanah you could be the
around the kitchen proud owner of a 100% kosher
table. Hyman quickly out-grew his bicycle route handcrafted yemenite shofar made
and bought a car. In 1946, Gold Pure Food Inc, from an antelope’s horn!
got their own apartment in Brooklyn. Today, www.kehot.com. Price: $98.99
the Gold’s mega plant in Long Island is run by
Marc and his cousins. They produce a variety of
Magazine staff writer going to do with
Yiddish cultural condiments. Borscht, Lo-Calorie
his interview of a Jewish CEO? That’s
Borscht, Unsalted Borscht or Schav, Russian
right, while I hold the camera, my
Style Borscht, and now the New York Mets’ have
brother-in-law, Rabbi Yossi Lieberman,
made Gold’s their official ball-park mustard.
the local Chabad Rabbi, helps Marc
Gold’s pack and ship some 17 million jars of
with the mitzvah of Tefillin. It’s getting
horseradish a year, but not as much borscht.
late and I have to catch a plane back
Borscht sales are in a slow decline.
to California, so we say L’Chaim, and
finish the borscht eager to go read a
As we drink and sample new products in Marc’s
office it is immediately apparent that Marc now Yiddish daily.
has someone else making red lines on the boxes, For the full line of Gold’s products, visit
and it’s not a five-year-old. So, what’s a Chabad www.goldshorseradish.com.

e
editor's cho
i ce
why are you staring at my t-shirt?
Need the perfect t-shirt to give your inner Jew some fresh air? Check out Chabad graphic
designer Yossi Belkin’s t-shirts online at www.zazzle.com/yossibelkin. Price: $18.99

Out of town for the High Holidays? Not a problem! Find a Chabad center you can drop in by
at www.chabad.org/centers. Whether you are in Korea, Cyprus, or Montana, Chabad is ready
to help you with all of your High Holiday needs. You can even ask for a complimentary Yom
Kippur sermon...

bride circles the groom 7 times under the chuppah // tefillin straps are wound 7 times around the arm // 7 levels of heaven //
 cover | feature

WHY I THINK THE

MOSHIACH
IS COMING

5770
and how that relates to our year

Today, we stand at this most unique moment

of history. At this time of transition, on the
threshold between today and tomorrow, as
six millennia of human endeavor approach
their climax into the tranquil perfection of
the eternal Shabbat, we are, in a sense, in
possession of the best of both worlds.
Let us seize the moment.

By Eli Soble

every 7th year the land in israel lays fallow (shemittah) // every 7 shmeittah years we have a jubilee year (yovel) // 7 fruits
 2 wear Tefillin 5 give Tzedakah 8 Love Your Fellow
to change the world www.chabad.org/tefillin Contact your local Chabad Reach out to a friend
click here. 3 afix a Mezuzah 6 buy Jewish Books 9 get a Jewish Education
www.chabad.org/mezuzah www.kehot.com Contact a Chabad near you
1 Light Shabbat Candles 4 study torah 7 eat Kosher 10 Observe Family Purity
www.fridaylight.org www.myjli.com www.chabad.org/kosher www.mikvah.org

You are here

Day of the week Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat
Time elapsed
5770
Years from creation 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000

a
ccording to a it is all happening. You buy the new the mouth of the well (of Miriam, that
2000-year-old kab- iPhone and days later a new better provided water for the Israelites in
3GS version is coming out. Perhaps, the desert); the mouth of the donkey
balistic manuscript, it’s similar to the traditional pre-Shab- (Balaam’s); the rainbow; the manna;
we are living in an epic bat hurriedness. Has the world itself the staff (Moses’); the shamir (that cut
moment in history. Sure, begun to move faster before the onset the stones of the Altar in the Holy
the Jewish book of mysti- of the Great Shabbat? Temple); and the writing, the inscrip-
cism, the zohar, did not say tion, and the tablets [of the Ten Com-
This is how the sages see the Cosmic mandments]. (Ethics of the Fathers 5:6)
the word “Google” but it got Calendar or G-d’s Seven Day Planner;
pretty close. Sunday, create light, = First millen- Nachmanides notes that each
nium of Adam “the light of the world.” thousand-year day is preceded by a
You see, the Torah says the world was twilight--an overlapping period which,
created in 6 days and on the seventh Monday, distinguish between the
while technically belonging to the
He rested, and the Talmud illustrates Heaven and earth = Second millen-
previous millennium, contains the
the timeline of history as a macro- nium of judgment and Flood.
beginnings of the next. Thus, Abraham
cosm of creation. There will be seven Tuesday, create greenery and fruit- was born 52 years before the third mil-
one thousand year periods with six bearing trees = Third millennium of lennium, King Solomon built the First
of toil and then the tranquility of Abraham’s discovery of monotheism Temple 72 years before the fourth, and
redemption--the cosmic Shabbat. So, and the giving of Torah at Sinai. so with each millennium.
now you get it. Today are living in
the last quarter of the 6th millennium, Wednesday, create the sun and the
moon = Fourth millennium of the First Therein lies the special significance of
the Friday afternoon of history. And I the twilight following the sixth day of
think the Moshiach is coming. Temple (2928-3338) and the Second
Temple (3408-3829) in Jerusalem. creation. For on the macro-historical
level, this is the twilight which facili-
Here is some background information Thursday, create fish, birds and rep- tates the transition from the six mil-
from the Zohar: “In the 600th year tiles = Fifth millennium (240-1240 CE) lennia of history to the new world.
of the 6th millennium (5600 = 1840 of the Dark Ages.
C.E.) the gates of supernal wisdom Is that what the number 5770 indi-
above together with the wellsprings of Friday morning, create beasts of the
land = Sixth millennium of forceful cates? The number seven refers to the
wisdom below will be opened up and natural order of life. 5770 perhaps
the world will prepare to usher in the empires.
hints at the culmination of the way of
7th millennium. This is symbolized Friday late afternoon, = creation life we are accustomed to and is a sign
by a man who begins preparations of Adam and Eve: the millennium in that a new frontier, the redemption, is
for ushering in the Shabbat on the which humankind finally becomes a immediately before us.
afternoon of the 6th day.” Historians “Mensch.”
argue as to the exact date of the first
Industrial Revolution, but surely 1840 Nowadays, we have surely entered Eli Soble is a staff writer for Farbren-
seems right. twilight on the Friday eve of the cos- gen Magazine and work at the Ameri-
mic week and it would be interesting can Stock Exchange during the week.
To be sure, it’s not only the more to note that ten things were created In his spare time he studies about the
recent Technological Revolution I’m at twilight and they are: the mouth of upcoming redemption and hopes that it
excited about, but the speed at which the earth (where it swallowed Korach) will happen soon.

t h e l a n d o f i s r a e l i s b l e s s e d w i t h : w h e a t , b a r l e y, g a p e s , p o m e g r a n a t e s , f i g s , o l i v e s , d a t e s / / 7 d a y s o f s i t t i n g s h i v a h f o r a c l o s e
 Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe is the Founder
cover | feature of the Connecticut Symposium
on Contemporary Legal Issues
and Jewish Law and the Rabbi of
Congregation Agudas Achim in
Hartford. He is also a chaplain at
the Hartford Fire Department.

I D o n ' t H av e

a dream by Rabbi Shlomo Yaffe

deny or abandon our source and innermost self. We
do something that is, in a certain sense, even more
destructive: we simultaneously know and ignore,
Why is it that in the space of one hour we can be full commit and shrug off, believe and deny.
of faith and then skeptical, kind to one stranger and
Wa k in g U p
abrupt with another, deeply inspired to seek holiness
What do we do when a bad dream becomes too hor-
and then be drawn to the basest desires? rible to bear? We make ourselves wake up, and all
the impossible predicaments and disturbing contra-
w e are so accustomed to this phenomenon we do not often question it,
but we should. Do we desire to live a G-dly life or not? Do our negative
inclinations and deeds prove that our convictions and commitments are only a
dictions of the night disappear as if they never were.
Once the soul is re-engaged, we see that the dream
could not have been real.
sham? If our commitment to "do the right thing" is not superficial, why does the
opposite draw us in so easily on a moment's notice? This will be the collective experience of humanity
when galut ends and redemption comes about. How-
The Dream ever, this collective redemption is the sum of many
individual redemptions. For the cosmos to awaken
There is a powerful metaphor in Psalm 126 that can help us understand some- we each need to wake ourselves up.
thing about this state of being. It begins, "When G-d will return the exiles
of Zion we will [see our experiences in exile] as having been dreamers". The We awake when the pain and contradiction of our
w o r l d i s t h e n i g h t m a r e . A l l w e h av e t o d o i s wa k e
“This wonderful world is not a utopian dre am. Our

nature of sleep and its unique attendant experience -- dreaming -- holds the dreams becomes too intense to bear. If we accept and
key to understanding galut, exile. internalize that we are G-dly beings, if we under-
When we sleep we are most certainly alive. Our brain is functioning, as is stand our lofty potential and what a prison for our
the rest of the body. However, according to Chassidic masters, all psychologi- souls galut therefore is, if we understand that G-d is
cal and physiological aspects of sleep and dreaming flow from a spiritual everywhere available by a simple choice to connect
dynamic. to G-d by doing another Mitzvah -- we can wake up.

The Talmud says that "sleep is one sixtieth of death." Death is the complete Every time we refuse to accept the limits that our
withdrawal of the soul from the body, permanently disconnecting them. In capacity for self-delusion places on us -- we are
sleep, the soul remains within the body, giving it life -- but at a distance. The waking ourselves up.
primary life force of the soul that vitalizes the mind and the higher faculties Every time we insist that each moment of our life
withdraws, leaving behind only a trace of vitality -- just enough to keep the can, and should, reflect our essential potential rather
body and basic brain functions going. than the force of habit and social convention -- we
In the absence of higher rational thought, various memories fill the mind at are waking ourselves up.
random, and from the confluence of these memories, we create most of our When we dream, irrelevant facts can loom large,
dreams. Since the rational powers are not there to "police" what we see, we because we lack the needle of reason to deflate them.
conflate different and contradictory ideas to create visions of the impossible. The fact that "no one else I know is living this way"
In a dream, we can be simultaneously old and young, in two different places has no bearing on our capacity to live "this way."
at the same time, or in the presence of two people one of whom died before When we break through this delusion of imagining
the other was born. All contradictions "fit" in a dream. It is only when we that the behavior of others has a veto on ours -- we
wake up that we realize that what we saw could never be or have been. are waking ourselves up.

This is the essence of the galut experience. The withdrawal of G-d's revealed By these acts of awakening and refusing to accept
presence from our world leads to the capacity for self-delusion and self- the nightmare, we shatter the one-way mirror and
contradiction. Because the Soul of the Universe (the vivifying force of G-d) enter a world in which we see G-d as clearly as G-d
is not engaged with its "body" (our world) in a revealed manner, we are able sees us.
to do things that contradict and deny G-d's will and presence. Just as in a This is the world awoken from the nightmare of human
dream contradiction is rampant, so, too, in galut we can reject G-d without suffering, emptiness, and petty hatreds. This is the world
perceiving how this contradicts the most fundamental fact of our being -- envisaged by all our prophets: a world free of hunger,
the reality that our very existence is an expression of G-d's power and will. disease, and jealousy, a world in which all humankind
This is why we accept the contradictions noted at the beginning of this ar- will focus together on the ever-exhilarating experience of
u p. ”

ticle. The deepest part of us remains attuned to the truth of who we are and knowing G-d and living accordingly.
what we truly desire; but our deep-seated convictions co-exist with an alien- This wonderful world is not a utopian dream. Our
ated and confused self that is ignorant or in denial of them. It's not that we world is the nightmare. All we have to do is wake up.

re l a t ive / / m o s e s wa s t h e 7 t h g e n e ra t i o n a f t e r ab ra h a m / / 7 h o l i d ay s i n t h e j ew i s h ye a r : ro s h h a s h a n a h , yo m k i p p u r, s u k k o t ,

Holidays
High
y o
Similar to a shopping spree at the mall, where we’d pick up all sorts of merchandise, the
month of Tishrei enriches us with a whole collection of deep experiences from which we can
draw sustenance all year long. We just need to unpack the merchandise and put it to use.
Rosh
Hashanah
September 18-20
Unlike a typical New
Year celebration, the
Jewish New Year is a
time of awe and solem-
nity. Rosh Hashanah means,
“head of the year.” Just as the
head controls the body, Rosh
Hashanah contains the potential
for life, blessing and sus-
tenance for the entire
year.
On Rosh
Hashanah, the birth-
day of Adam and
Eve, we renew our
relationship with
G-d and are evalu-
ated, together with all of human-
ity. The words we read in the
machzor, the holiday prayer book,
help us channel our feelings. The
shofar awakens our hearts to the
awesome power of the day and
trumpets our acceptance of G-d
as our Master.
Our actions on Rosh Hashanah
set the tone for the year to come.
During the Tashlich service, we
symbolically “cast” our sins into
the water. We eat apples dipped
in honey, wishing for a good and
sweet year, and eat new fruits
symbolizing new beginnings.
This is reflected in the words that
we say during Rosh Hashanah,
“May you be inscribed and
sealed for a good year.”
Checklist for Rosh Hashanah:
(See inside for more information)
 Candlelighting, both nights
 Kiddush and festive meals, both
nights and both days
 Apple dipped in honey, first night
 New fruit is enjoyed, second night
 Hear the shofar
 Visit a body of water for Tashlich
ch a nu k a h , p u r i m , p a s s ove r, s h av u o t / / 7 c o m m a n d m e n t s we re a d d e d by o u r s ag e s / / 7 n a t i o n s wa r re d w i t h t h e i s ra e l i t e s / / 7 g a t e s
u r h o l i d a
YOM KIPPUR
September 27-28
After the sin of the Golden
Calf, Moses fasted and prayed for
40 days on behalf of the Jewish
people. On Yom Kippur,
G-d proclaimed, “I have
forgiven.” Yom Kippur
means “day of atonement” and
is the holiest day of the year.
Before Yom Kippur, we observe
the Kapparot service by rotating
a fowl or money over our heads,
which we then give to the poor.
On Yom Kippur, we do not eat,
drink, wash, use perfume, have
marital relations or wear leather
shoes. It is a custom to wear white,
symbolic of purity.
Yom Kippur begins with Kol
Nidrei, expressing our timeless
commitment to G-d. We ask for
G-d’s forgiveness, enumerat-
ing our shortcomings with the
resolve to strengthen our connec-
tion with Him. The prayers are
phrased in the plural, for all Jews
are considered one soul, respon-
sible for each other.
Yom Kippur reveals the
essence of the Jewish soul, a
spark of G-d united with its
Source. The final prayer of Yom
Kippur, when our judgment for
the coming year is sealed, is
called Ne’ilah, “closing the gate,”
which culminates with the final
sounding of the shofar.
Checklist for Yom Kippur:
(See inside for more information)
 Kapparot and charity, before
Yom Kippur
 Two festive meals, before the fast
 Yahrzeit memorial candle is lit
before Yom Kippur (if applicable)
 Candlelighting, before sunset
 Fast, from before sundown until
after nightfall
 Yizkor memorial prayers, during
daytime services
 Break the fast after the Havdalah
service, marking the end of the
holiday
holidays | high holiday guide
y G u i d e
SUKKOT
October 2-9
Sukkot, the season of rejoic-
ing, means “huts,” reminiscent of
the temporary shelters in which
the Jewish people dwelled in the
desert. Also called the Festival
of Ingathering, Sukkot is the
time that the produce from the
field, orchard and vineyard
is collected. It is one of three
Pilgrimage Festivals when Jews
would travel to the Holy Temple
in Jerusalem, demonstrating their
unity. We express this unity by
blessing the Four Kinds: The
lulav (palm branch), etrog (citron),
haddasim (myrtle) and aravot
(willow).
During the
seven days
of Sukkot, we
eat our meals
outdoors in the
sukkah. The
sukkah is the only mitzvah that
encompasses us, symbolizing
the “clouds of glory,” which
surrounded and protected the
Jewish people upon leaving
Egypt.
Hoshanah Rabbah, the last day
of Sukkot, means “great salva-
tion,” and marks the end
of our judgment period, which
began on Rosh Hashanah. We
traditionally tap the floor with a
bundle of willow branches, and
ask G-d to seal our inscription
for a sweet year.
Checklist for Sukkot
(See inside for more information)
 Candlelighting, first two nights
 Kiddush and festive meals,
first two nights and first two days
 Eat all meals in the sukkah
 Bless the Four Kinds each day,
except Shabbat
 On Hoshanah Rabbah, eat fes
tive meal and tap the aravot (wil
low branches)
SHEMINI ATZERET/
SIMCHAT TORAH
October 9-11
Shemini Atzeret
and Simchat Torah
are the culmina-
tion of the holi-
days of Tishrei. On
Shemini Atzeret,
which means “the
eighth day that con-
cludes the festival,”
some customarily eat
their meals in the
sukkah. In the synagogue,
we dance Hakafot with the
Torah—processions amid singing
and dancing—and pray for rains
of blessing.
Simchat Torah, which means
“rejoicing with the Torah,” is
celebrated with exuberant danc-
ing. Completing the annual cycle
of reading the Torah, we read
the final section of the Torah,
after which we immediately start
to read it again. The rest of the
year, we approach the Torah with
serious study. On Simchat Torah,
we approach the Torah with joy-
ful dance.
This holiday emphasizes that
the Torah is the inheritance of
every single Jew. By starting to
read the Torah anew, we demon-
strate that learning never ends,
especially when it comes to the
Torah and its infinite wisdom.
Checklist for Shemini Atzeret/
Simchat Torah
(See inside for more information)
 Candlelighting, both nights
 Kiddush and festive meals,
both nights and both days
 Dance Hakafot, both nights
and second day
 Yizkor memorial prayers, first day
 holidays | high holiday guide
the
The Shofar
Your Personal
Wake-Up Call
Blown both days of Rosh Hashanah, except Shabbat,
and at the end of Yom Kippur.
“After the blowing of the shofar, a new, more sublime
Divine light descends, so sublime a light as has yet never
shone since the Creation of the world.” (Tanya)
One hundred sounds are blown from the shofar each day
of Rosh Hashanah. The shofar is a ram’s horn, the oldest
and most primitive of wind instruments, yet its call touch-
es the innermost chords of the soul. Its sound is simple and
plaintive—a cry from the heart, like that of a lost child for
its parent. It is a call to evaluate our actions and improve
our ways, as expressed in the verse: “Awake sleepers from
your sleep; slumberers. Arise from your slumber–examine
your deeds, return and remember your Creator.”
The shofar proclaims the coronation of G-d as King of the
Universe and brings to mind great events that involved a
ram’s horn. After the binding of Isaac, Abraham sacrificed
a ram in place of his son; this ram's horn was blown 363
years later when the Jewish people gathered at Sinai to
receive the Torah; its horn will also herald the coming of
Moshiach and the final redemption of the Jewish people.
TASHLICH
Fishing for Wisdom
Performed before sunset on the first day of Rosh Hashanah
(or second day, if first occurs on Shabbat).
“The earth will be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the
waters cover the ocean floor.” (Tashlich liturgy)
Before sunset on the first day of Rosh Hashanah,
Tashlich (“cast away") is observed. We visit the bank of
a river, lake, or any stretch of water containing live fish,
and recite special prayers. The words of the prophet Micah,
which are recited at Tashlich, contain the meaning behind
this custom: “[G-d] will cast our transgressions into the
depth of the sea.” The Kabbalah teaches that water sym-
bolizes kindness, and fish remind us of the ever-watchful
eye of G-d’s providence. Fish have no eyelids, so their eyes
are always open.
The creatures of the sea symbolize unity with the Divine.
Righteous people are termed “fish of the sea”—just as fish
are encompassed by the sea, the righteous are absorbed in
the waters of Torah, completely united with G-d.
of entry to the beit hamikdash // 7 prophetesses: sarah, miriam, devorah, chana, avigail, chuldah, esther // yom kippur is
Basics
TESHUVAH-”REPENTANCE”
Return to Sender
Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur.
“Teshuvah redeems the Source of the soul from its exile
and returns the flow of the Divine manifestation to its
proper place.” (The Zohar)
Although often translated as repentance, teshuvah
really means “return”—a return to the true inner self that
is always connected to its Source. The path of teshuvah
begins with sincere regret for our transgressions and the
resolve to abandon those ways. It is also the desire to come
closer to G-d through prayer and increased performance
of mitzvot, particularly the giving of charity to the poor,
which “redeem” the soul from spiritual captivity.
In the words of The Zohar, teshuvah returns the Divine
presence, the Source of the soul, from the exile to which it
was banished by transgression.
KOL NIDREI
Look at our Hearts,
Not our Clothes
Heard the night of Yom Kippur.
“Let our vows not be considered vows; let our oaths not
be considered oaths.” (Kol Nidrei)
The first prayer of Yom Kippur, as the sun is setting, is
Kol Nidrei, the cancellation of vows. The significance of
this prayer dates back to the persecution of Jews during
the Spanish Inquisition of the 15th Century, when Jews
were forced to convert to Catholicism under the threat of
death.
Outwardly, the Jews behaved like their Spanish neigh-
bors, but in private they remained devout. Once a year
they would gather in secret, declaring Kol Nidrei to vow
their commitment to Judaism, despite their seemingly
Catholic lives. Kol Nidrei was their proclamation that their
external behavior was not who they were.
Our souls are cloaked in external garments, which are
simply not us. Though we may think, talk and act in ways
incongruous to our Jewishness, that is not who we truly
are. On Yom Kippur, we hope to transcend our outer gar-
ments and reach our inner souls.
 your personal map to a meaningful holiday
THE SUKKAH
Seven Days
Under His Roof
Sukkot is a seven-day festival.
“It is fitting that all of Israel should dwell in a
single sukkah.” (Talmud)
A sukkah is an outdoor structure, where we dwell during
the Festival of Sukkot in symbolic demonstration of our faith
in G-d's providence. Its roof is composed of vegetation such
as evergreen branches, cornhusks or bamboo stalks.
“Sukkah is the only mitzvah into which a person enters
with his muddy boots,” goes the Chassidic saying. The
sukkah, its walls and roofing, encompass us entirely. Our
whole being—from our intellect and emotion down to the
tips of our toes—is involved with this mitzvah.
The Zohar teaches that on each of the seven days
of Sukkot, we are joined in our sukkah by seven spiri-
tual Ushpizin, honored guests: Abraham, representing the
divine sefira (attribute) of chesed, kindness; Isaac, rep-
resenting gevurah, restraint; Jacob, representing tifferet,
beauty and balance; Moses representing netzach, eter-
nity and perseverance; Aaron, representing hod, splendor;
Joseph, representing yesod, spiritual foundation, and King
David, representing malchut, sovereignty.
The sukkah encompasses its visitors in unison. In this
way, the sukkah reveals the simple and beautiful
oneness of a people rooted in the oneness of their
Creator. When all of Israel dwells in a single suk-
kah, our unity transcends our differences.
THE FOUR KINDS
All Four One and One for All
Performed each day of Sukkot, except for Shabbat.
“G-d says, ‘Let them be bound together in one bond, and
these will atone for those.’” (Midrash)
The unity of the Jewish people is expressed by blessing
the Four Kinds:
The etrog (citron) has both a pleasant taste and smell, rep-
resenting one who is both knowledgeable in Torah and
proficient in the observance of mitzvot.
The lulav is the branch of the date palm, whose fruit is
tasty but has no scent, representing one who is accom-
plished in Torah, though less so in mitzvot.
concluded with saying “the l-rd is g-d” 7 times // 7 branches of the menorah // 7 ushpizin (spiritual guests) who visit the suk-
The hadas (myrtle branch) is tasteless but aromatic, rep-
resenting one who, though lacking in Torah knowledge,
is observant in mitzvot.
The tasteless and scentless aravah (willow branch) repre-
sents the individual who lacks in both Torah and mitzvot.
When we are bound together, each individual makes up
for that which is lacking in the others.
The Four Kinds also represent four personas within
each individual: Lulav is the intellectual within, who does
not allow feeling to cloud the purity of knowledge; hadas
is the emotional self, where feelings comprise the highest
ideal, even at the expense of intellect; etrog is the force
that strives for balance of mind and heart, while aravah is
the capacity for setting aside both intellect and feeling in
commitment to a Higher ideal.
Dances with
the torah
Feel the Beat
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.
“The Torah wants to circle the bimah and
dance; since it cannot, we become its
‘feet,’ transporting the Torah around the
reading table, just as feet transport the
head.” (Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch)
All reserve disappears in the exuberant dancing of
Simchat Torah. Every Jew, learned and unsophisticated,
feels a natural desire to take a Torah in his arms and dance.
Simchat Torah taps a point in the soul that defies the differ-
ences that exist between one Jew and another.
The source for this happiness is of course the Torah. Yet
throughout the entire Hakafot dances, the Torah is never
opened; we dance holding it wrapped in its mantle. Though
the Torah is usually associated with disciplined study, on
Simchat Torah we approach it differently, singing and
dancing in a manner that bears no apparent relationship
to understanding.
We are lifted beyond the realm of our individual identi-
ties and become the “feet of the Torah.” These celebrations
reveal that our bond with G-d and the Torah is unconfined
by the limits of intellect.
Moreover, this celebration anticipates the ultimate celebra-
tions that will accompany the coming of Moshiach and the
advent of the Era of the Redemption. May we merit it now.
 holidays | high holiday guide

Insights
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher
R e bb e , R a bb i M e n a c h e m M e n d e l S c h n e e r s o n

Rosh YOM KIPPUR SUKKOT SHEMINI

Hashanah
CELEBRATING
OUR POTENTIAL
Rosh Hashanah celebrates
the creation of Adam and
Eve. When Adam was cre-
ated, his soul so irradiated
his being, that all the crea-
tures wanted to crown him
as their creator. Adam cor-
rected them, saying, “Come,
let us worship, let us bow
down and kneel before G-d
our Maker” (The Zohar). At
that moment, he actualized
the universe’s potential—to
become one with the Divine.
It is only through the cre-
ation of Adam (humanity)
that the separate elements
of the universe can unite
with one purpose. Only we
have the power to elevate
physicality into something
spiritual. When a ram’s horn
is blown on Rosh Hashanah,
the animal kingdom is elevat-
ed. When we make a bless-
ing before eating an apple
dipped in honey, we elevate
the organic kingdom. On this
day, we realize the potential
and responsibility we have as
human beings.
THE SOUL ESSENCE
Yom Kippur has a special
power, for “whether one
repents or does not repent,
Yom Kippur atones.” To
quote Maimonides, “The
essence of the day atones.”
The soul has many lev-
els. Though it is a spiritual
entity, there is a level that
is affected by our physi-
cal transgressions. For this
level of the soul, repentance
is required to reattach it to
G-dliness.
However, the essence of
the soul is literally one with
G-d and cannot be affect-
ed by our physicality. On
Yom Kippur, G-d reveals
this essence that is hidden
throughout the year.
The Hebrew word kapparah
has a connotation of “scrub-
bing”—meaning that on
Yom Kippur, we can scrub
off our transgressions and
connect with our essence.
AN ENDLESS JOY
The spiritual light we achieve dur-
ing the High Holidays through
prayer, meditation and fasting is
again achieved on Sukkot, but
through joy.
What we accomplish through
blowing the shofar is now accom-
plished by placing the s’chach
branches on the roof of our suk-
kah. (The word s’chach has the
numerical value of 100, equal-
ing the amount of sounds blown
from the shofar during Rosh
Hashanah.) The seven days
between Rosh Hashanah and
Yom Kippur can elevate each day
of the coming year; the seven
days of Sukkot elevate the com-
ing year with joy and spirituality.
The cloud of incense offered in
the Holy Temple on Yom Kippur
is a manifestation of the “clouds
of glory” that protected the Jews
leaving Egypt; a physical sukkah
is the spiritual manifestation of
these clouds.
Joy is not logical; it is above
our comprehension. Our Sages
teach, “joy breaks all boundar-
ies.” Through joy, Sukkot gives us
the power to reach our spiritual
potential, by breaking our intel-
lectual boundaries.
ATZERET/
SIMCHAT
TORAH
SIMPLY DIVINE
Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur
and Sukkot are considered
our engagement with G-d’s
Will. Shemini Atzeret and
Simchat Torah constitute our
wedding, the time of “Intimacy
with the Divine.”
A wedding brings two people
together in happiness and
fulfillment. Simchat Torah
means “the joy of the Torah,”
because we bring joy to the
Torah when we bring her into
our lives. Our soul comes from
the essence of the Divine; the
Torah is the manifestation of
the Divine Will. It is only when
the soul (clothed in a body)
adheres to the Torah, that the
Divine Will is actualized and
fulfilled.
When we dance with the
Torah on Simchat Torah, G-d’s
essence and His Torah are
reunited, bringing purpose
and fulfillment to each other.

Sometimes G-d does the strangest things. So you ask, Why? Why would You make this happen? We ask
A Chassidic Tale this question even more intensely when G-d messes up our plans to do something good. // A disciple of Reb
David of Mikilev, we’ll call him Reb Yaakov, once made the journey to Koretz to spend Yom Kippur with the
Illustration by Sarah Lehat

sleeping great tzadik Reb Pinchos of Koretz. Every Yom Kippur he reached higher and higher levels of concentration
through and awareness, and he now planned to take it to the next level, by experiencing the holiest day of the year
yom kippur in the presence of one of the holiest mystics of the generation. Throughout the journey he sang Chassidic
melodies, studied, prayed meditated. He was ecstatic with anticipation. // He arrived in Koretz on Erev Yom
Kippur and ate the traditionally large meal of the day. Afterward he felt sleepy and lied down for a short nap of sweet slumber. The effects of the
journey and something he drank put him fast asleep. When he finally awoke, and went to the shul he could hear the congregation singing the
tunes of the final prayer of the day, Neilah. Yom Kippur was over and he had slept through it. Good job. // He had traveled all this way, and now,
not only did he not pray in the presence of the holy master, not only had he not prayed with the kabbalistic meditations of the Arizal—he had not
even said the prayers in the simplest manner as performed by any simple Jew! He felt like a total and complete fool. // Well, there was still some
of Yom of Kippur left, so he joined the congregation in their prayers. He prayed with heartfelt devotion, filled with remorse and contrition. His
plaintive voice could be heard throughout the shul. And so he prayed till Yom Kippur was out. // After havdala, during the break-fast, Reb Pinchos
asked about the man who been praying so loud and mournfully during Neilah. He explained: “Throughout Yom Kippur, a battle had been raging
in heaven. The prosecuting angels insisted on a terrible decree against our people. As we prayed, the defense was bolstered, but all the way to the
final moments, the prosecution was ahead. I tried everything—to no avail. And then I heard a plaintive voice in the back of the shul and when I
looked to heaven I could see that the decree had been annulled, the prosecuting angel had finally been silenced. I would like to meet the master of
that voice….” // So when G-d messes up your plans to do something good, perhaps He’s setting you up to do something better?

kah: abraham, isaac, jacob, moses, aaron, joseph, david // 7 days of pesach and sukkot // joshua circles the walls of jericho
1
 musings | perspective

a yom kippur Jack Benny made

a successful career
is time sensi-
tive. G-d will

in hollywood
understand.” 
out of the “Jewish
Sadly,
cheapskate” persona, Ari Gold
although, in the personifies

As the rabbi of one of spirit of the times, stereotypes

about Jews
the “Jewish” element
America's most prestigious was implied rather
and money
that got their
art schools, I get to spend my than explicit. In one start centu-
ries ago, long
Friday nights in the company famous radio routine, before their
of hip young media-savvy a thief holds up Benny ever was a
Hollywood
students. at gunpoint and (a place that
growls, “Your money was, ironi-
Not surprisingly, the topic of Jewish imagery in popular culture cally, created
often comes up over the matzo ball soup. I was especially in-
of your life!” After by Jewish
trigued when a film student told me about America's most openly repeated threats and a geniuses!)
Jewish character: a hyperactive, materialistic Hollywood agent, painfully long pause, Folk tales de-
picting Jews
aptly named Ari Gold, and played by Jewish actor Jeremy Piven
on the show Entourage. Benny finally replies, as mon-
  “I’m thinking, I’m eygrubbers
The student extrapolated on one particularly Jewish episode that can be traced
had become the talk of the blogosphere: Gold knows he isn’t al-
thinking…”  back to the
lowed to use his precious cell phone during Yom Kippur services, Medieval
but he only has a few hours left to broker a major movie deal. Un- and Renaissance eras. Later, literary giants Shakespeare
able to resist temptation, Gold negotiates with an orthodox studio and Dickens immortalized Jews as greedy and amoral,
head in the middle of services anyway, reassuring the man: “This through their characters Shylock and Fagin. 
 
Not surprisingly, when American Jews began to prosper
after years of grinding poverty, their complicated feelings
about money, 20success and security found their way into
their comedy routines. 
 
For example, Jack Benny made a successful career out of
the “Jewish cheapskate” persona, although, in the spirit
of the times, the “Jewish” element was implied rather
than explicit. In one famous radio routine, a thief holds
up Benny at gunpoint and growls, “Your money of your
life!”  After repeated threats and a painfully long pause,
Benny finally replies, “I’m thinking, I’m thinking…” 
 
Whereas those early Jewish humorists incorporated their
painful memories of poverty into their humor, today their
comedic descendants (like the makers of Entourage) joke
about the bad behavior of super-successful characters
like Ari Gold. But to me, Gold’s popularity isn’t a sign of
progress. That big-spending character is just as unflat-
tering as the old Jack Benny stereotype of the Jewish
tightwad, and just as unfair. 
 
Beneath all the humor, however, these stereotypes can
teach us important lessons. Let’s face it: when forced to
choose between “their money” and “their lives”, many

7 times before they fell // biblical contamination lasted 7 days // every shabbat 7 people are called up to the torah for an
  by Simon Jacobson

Is G-d
by Simcha Weinstein

Religious?
people choose money over family, friends, and even their
relationship with G-d. Recently, many of us learned the hard
way that we can’t rely on material wealth for our happiness
and security. 
  The polls are mixed on that count.
In the Shema, the central Jewish prayer, we say, "You shall Recent surveys show that as much
love the Lord your G-d with all your heart, with all your as 80-90% of Americans will say that
soul, and with all your might."  they believe in G-d, but 40-50% will
say they do not practice a religion.
 The question is sometimes asked: what do we mean by the
words "all your might"? Rabbi Shlomo Itzchaki, known as Indeed, if G-d is all-powerful and infinite, and religion is a
Rashi, explains that we are enjoined to love G-d with every- set of laws and rituals and a list of things that one must
or must not do, it would seem that G-d could hardly be
thing we have, even with our money.  described as "religious." Nor would it seem that being re-
  ligious will bring a person closer to G-d. If G-d transcends
And how do we do that? By conducting all our business all limitation and definition, why would the way to relate to
dealings with the utmost integrity.  G-d be to impose further restriction and definition on our
  already finite and constricted lives?
Judaism does not ask us to take vows of poverty, nor require
Yet this paradox is not confined to the religious-spiritual
us to renounce material wealth. But rather places greater
aspect of the human experience. Throughout the ages,
emphasis on generosity and charitable giving. The Talmud whenever man has endeavored to escape the bounds of
notes that charity equals all the other commandments com- the mundane and the everyday, he did so by submitting to
bined (Bava Basra 9a). While the word “tzedakah” is most a structured, even rigid, code of behavior.
commonly translated into English as “charity,” it actually
comes from the Hebrew word meaning “justice” or “righ- My favorite example for this is the discipline of music.
teousness.”  There are just so many musical notes on the scale, and no
one--not even the greatest musician--can create addi-
  tional notes or subtract any. Anyone who wishes to play or
This High Holiday period is the perfect time to confront both compose music must conform to this absolute, immutable
the "Cheapskate" and "Soulless Capitalist" inside us all. Let’s system.
not forget that right after Rosh Hashanah last year, the front
page of The New York Times Business Section ran a photo of And yet, by submitting to this framework, the musician will
nervous Jewish Wall Street traders outside one of the largest create a piece of music that touches the deepest place
in a person's heart---a place that cannot be described,
synagogues in New York, checking their Blackberries for the much less the defined. By using this very precise, math-
latest market news on one of the holiest days of the Jewish ematical formula, the musician will create something that
calendar. What a depressing image, especially in retrospect.  transports the listener to a place high above the confines
  and fetters of everyday life, high above the strictures of
As another Jewish comedian, Lily Tomlin, once observed, physics and mathematics.
“The problem with the rat race is that even if you win,
Imagine, then, a musical discipline whose laws are dic-
you're still a rat.” 
tated by the inventor and creator of life---by the one who
  has intimate knowledge of life's every strength and every
On Rosh Hashanah, our income is determined for the up- vulnerability, of its every potential and its every sensitivity.
coming year, and on Yom Kippur, it is sealed. No amount of
schmoozing on cell phones can change that.  The only question remaining is: but why so many laws?
  Why must this discipline dictate how we are to wake and
Maybe this Yom Kippur, we should all switch our cell how we are to sleep, and virtually everything in between?
phones off (and not just set them on vibrate and think that’s Because life itself, in all its infinite complexity, is our instru-
good enough!) Better yet, let’s leave these devices at home ment of connection with G-d. Every "scale" on its "range"
altogether. We can then use all those quieter, uninterrupted must be exploited to achieve the optimum connection.
hours to contemplate the true meaning of life. Now that’s a
“time sensitive” project that G-d will really understand.  Music being our metaphor, we cannot but quote the
famous anecdote in which Archduke Ferdinand of Austria
reputedly says to Mozart, "Beautiful music, but far too
Simcha Weinstein is an internationally known, best-selling au-
many notes." To which the composer replied, "Yes, your
thor. He has appeared on CNN and NPR, and has been profiled
majesty, but not one more than necessary."
in leading publications, including The New York Times, The
Miami Herald and The London Guardian. He chairs the Reli- Rabbi Jacobson is the author of the best-selling book,
gious Affairs Committee at the renowned New York art school, Toward a Meaningful Life. He heads The Meaningful
Pratt Institute. His latest book is, Shtick Shift: Jewish Humor Life Center in the U.S.
in the 21st century.

aliyah // 7 noachide laws pertaining to all of humanity // each plague in egypt lasted 7 days // on sukkot we shake 7 species: 1
 money | editorial

a rabbi’s
apology to money
Dear Money, I would like to publicly apologize for
things I may have said about you in the past.
I know nick names can be extremely
hurtful, and I’m shocked that people
have called you “cold and hard” for so
long, when in truth I’ve come to realize
that you are warm and soft.
The most outrages claim I’ve ever
heard about you, was that you were
somehow a sort of idol that people
worshiped. (I’m not going to respond
to the comments made by some that
you are the root of all evil, i mean,
that’s down right nasty.)
As with many people in our lives,
sometimes we don’t appreciate who
they are until they are gone. And the
same thing happened with you. Since
you’ve gone away, I started missing
you, but more than just the emotional
void in my heart, I have now come to
see you in a new light.
I’ve come to understand that you’re
the one behind my small student’s
smile. It was you that allowed my
friends child to attend Jewish sum-
mer camp and learn about what it
means to be Jewish. I had no idea,
you were the one that kept the Torah
Day School open for so long, until it
had to close recently, a few months
after you left.
“Since you’ve gone away, I
started missing you, but more
than just the emotional void
in my heart, I have now come
to see you in a new light.”
My dearest friend Money, I had no
idea how important you were in the
life of a Jew. I still don’t know of any
shul or school that was built without
you. Perhaps, you have done more
for Jewish education than any single
rabbi friend of mine. Yet, somehow,
you had the ability to reach beyond
education. You knew how to impact
people in so many ways. How can I
forget all the smiles that I would see
on the faces of the poor and needy
after a small visit from you.
Like I said, I have a completely new
respect for what you are and what
you do. I am truly ashamed of the
things people still say about you, and
I for one would like to make it official,
that I am sorry, and I will never treat
you like that again. Please forgive me
for the things I have said and let’s be
friends again.
As I write this, with tears in my eyes,
i think of all the wonderful things we
could do together. A new book, a new
school and summer camp, or even
a new hospital. But, it seems you’ve
gone and I’ll have to wait right here
until you get back.
Thank you for all you’ve done, and I
hope to see you soon.
Rabbi A.
>> About the author: Rabbi A. was
raised in Brooklyn, New York and
educated in the finest rabbinical
schools in the US and abroad.

the rebbe on the dollar bill

The next time you use or pursue a dollar, take a moment to read the fine print.
By Divine Providence, the designers of the dollar inscribed on it two key phrases. The first is “In
G-d we trust.” Not I, says the dollar, can provide you with solace from the pain of life and secu-
rity against its uncertainties; not I should serve as the object of your yearning and the focus of
your striving. The second phrase is “E pluribus unum” (“Out of many, one”). Our mission in life
is to make of the many one, to unite these diverse forces into a harmonious expression of the
oneness of their Creator. Money is the ultimate abstractor, converting goods, talent and toil into
a commodity that can easily be traded and shared. It is a medium of generosity and coopera-
tion between men and nations, a consolidator of resources to a common end.
Based on the Rebbe’s talks on Sukkot 5744 (1983), Tishrei 6, 5745 (October 2, 1984), and on other occasions

l u l a v, 1 e t r o g , 2 w i l l o w s , 3 m y r t l e s / / 7 d a y s i n p r e p a r a t i o n f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f t h e t a b e r n a c l e i n t h e d e s e r t / / p h a r a o h

I can't tell you I
knew how it felt
to be an outsider.
I never thought I
was an outsider.
by Ezzy Fink
My Life
of Lies
I believe in order to feel like an outsider you
must first experience being an insider. For me,
there was never an inside or an outside. There was
just me. I always believed it was all about me.
I thought the way I was, was the way everyone
should be...
I lived a life of lies. I deluded myself into believing
I was a truthful and honest person. But there wasn’t
a truthful bone in my body- it was all a lie... It
wasn’t until much later in my life, when I started to
recover, that I finally realized I had been spending
my entire life only looking in from the outside. It
was like looking through a glass- a glass that was
never washed. Let me tell you something, I don’t
think there’s anything more painful than feeling
like an outsider-like not fitting in. When I started
to experience the pain of living without drugs, it
all became clear to me what living on the outside
really meant.
I am by no means an expert, nor am I here to teach
anything. I am merely here to share my own expe-
rience of what it means to live as an outsider- or
should I say, go through this world as an outsider-
because it’s definitely not living.
Part of the pain I started feeling was when I real-
ized that I was always judging other people’s out-
sides (they look great,they look successful, they
look happy) and comparing it to how I was feel-
ing on the inside. That way of thinking can “kill”
someone instantly, because if I see you and it looks
like you have it together and I feel horrible inside,
I will compare the two. What I don’t know is how
you really feel inside...
These judgments and misperceptions caused me
to live in fear. Because I couldn’t deal with fear
I had to numb it. So ever since I was a kid and
couldn’t deal with these “fears” I started turning to
something that kept me alive- alive and comfort-
able with who I was. She was my enemy and my
best friend. My love and my hate. Her name was
dreamed of 7 cows and 7 stalks of grain // the world was created in 7 days // shabbat is the 7th day of the week // on shabbat we
She was my enemy and my best friend. My love
and my hate. Her name was Alcohol and Drugs. She
kept me alive and helped me feel like an insider.
Alcohol and Drugs. She kept me alive and
helped me feel like an insider. At times
she made me too numb to care if I was an
insider or an outsider- until she stopped
working. And she always did.
The pain and suffering of today or yes-
terday would come back. She might have
tried to still love me but she couldn’t
satisfy me. For me, the most torturous
thing is when I wanted to stop (using)
because she wasn’t “working” anymore,
but I couldn’t, I had to keep going- I felt
like I had no choice...
I thank G-d each and every day for every-
thing He gave me. The good and the pain
because it made me who I am today and
I wouldn’t trade that for anything. And
if I could erase your pain, and give you
what I have today, guess what. I wouldn’t.
I wouldn’t want to rob you of the journey.
It’s a gift.
One of my favorite holidays is Pesach.
I love sitting at the seder because I can
identify with slavery. I was a slave, truly
a slave. I didn’t have a say in anything.
When my addiction wanted me to get up,
I got up. When she wanted me to sleep, I
passed out. When she wanted me to steal,
I robbed. When she wanted me to cheat ,
I manipulated. I was compelled to do as
she commanded. I couldn’t stop until she
wanted it to be over. I had crossed over
the invisible line from free man to slave.
my story
The greatest blessing I received, at first
seemed like the greatest curse-ant that
was hitting bottom. Losing everything
that was ever of value in my life. The
most intense feeling of emptiness was to
feel the pain of being an outsider in my
own body.
Today, I am a ben chorin- a free man.
G-d has blessed with a hand that reach-
es out to those on the “outside,” while
I continue to work on myself and help
bring my brothers and sisters to the door
of freedom.
If there is one thing I can say to you, it’s
that I extend my heart to all those that
kept their ”doors open to the outside.” I
couldn’t have done it without you.
And for all the people who are afraid of
those on the outside, please unlock the
doors. There are people out there crying
to be let in...
Ezzy Fink would not be alive today to tell his
tale. When Fink’s dealer refused to sell him
anymore drugs claiming that Ezzy was doing
too much too fast, the thirty-year-old finnaly
hit rock bottom Luckily, that was a starting
point of return for Ezzy Fink. Ezzy was soon
rehabilitated at the Chabad Rehab Center in
Los Angeles where he currenly works at Aish
Tamid, a center for at risk teens in Los An-
geles. His story printed here, originally ap-
peared in the Aish Tamid Magazine and was
reprinted with their permission.
 musings | jewish life

Reb Mordechai of Neshchiz was on his way to Brody to purchase an esrog for Sukkot. He
Blessing on a horse had patiently saved up six silver ruble to be able to purchase the precious holiday fruit and
A Chassidic Tale
Illustration by Marc Lumer
was excited to soon make the purchase. // Each year, Reb Mordechai, along with all the other
Jews, would look through the batch of that exotic citron, choosing one without blemish, per-
fectly shaped, and fragrant. // How could a Jew celebrate Sukkkot without an esrog? It’s like
celebrating Chanukah without a menorah. Impossible. // He stopped off at an inn to grab a
bite and sat down near a poor and dejected-looking older man. Reb Mordechai inquired as to
the cause of his long face and the fellow replied that he had just turned penniless. His beloved

e
editor's cho
i ce

Some
you may be
ews
in shul this
sitting next to yom kippur

You should know The Parisis are, The tall man next
your rights, and even perhaps, the to you saying kad-
if you show up late to most unlikely dish for his father
synagogue this year, couple you’ll may be Peter
you have the right to meet at the shul Himmelman.
remain Jewish. picnic this year. You’ll know that
Just ask Steve Ri- You might he has a kippa
back sitting next mistake Yaa- and tzitzit and
to you. Riback is kov Parisi for prays with his
a detective for the the rabbi, with eyes closed.
Las Vegas Met- his long white But, you may
ropolitan Police beard and vel- not know that
Department, and vet yarmulka, he is nationally
his decision to be- but, in fact, known for his unpredictable mu-
come an observant Jew has added just a few years ago this former sical shows. USA Today calls him
meaning to the slogan "To serve and evangelical Christian Pastor and “one of rock’s most wildly imagi-
protect." his wife were attending picnics native performers.” And that’s
of another group. putting it lightly.
Steve's assignments (other than
blowing the shofar and giving the In 1992 Mr. Parisi and his wife Somewhere, while traveling the
lulav and etrog a good shakedown) became Pastors of their own world playing to sold out crowds,
have included Jail Corrections, Pa- church in the Bible Belt. In their Peter came to understand the es-
trol, D.A.R.E., Undercover Vice, and search for answers in their own sence of torah and mitzvot. Sure,
currently Detective in the Quality As- religion they turned to the Bible he still makes music for a number
surance Bureau. Steve and his wife and discovered the beauty in Ju- of television shows and films, (in-
Michal can easily be spotted at any daism. In exploring the roots of cluding The Fox hit, Bones, ABC’s
sukkah party, they're the ones in the their faith and their search for Men in Trees, the CBS comedy,
car with flashing lights. More on truth Yaakov was set on a long The Ex List, the Disney series Bug
Steve at koshercop.com journey that ended up with him Juice , NBC’s American Embassy
sitting next to you in shul. and the Touchstone film Crossing

recite 7 blessings in the silent amidah prayer // 7 emotional sefirot (behavioral traits through which we serve g-d) // rosh
 horse, his only possession of worth, and the vehicle of his livelihood, had died. After all, horses don’t live forever. // You know,
said Reb Mordechai, there’s a man outside selling a horse, let’s go see what he’s asking. And so they did. // For you? said the
dealer: Six ruble. // Reb Mordechai gave the horse dealer his precious six ruble and gave the horse to the poor man. He said
to himself: Most people will be saying a blessing over their own esrog this Sukkos; I’ll be saying it over a horse. // When it’s
not about you and how you experience the mitzvah, it makes no difference what the mitzvah is. Having your own beautiful
esrog on Sukkot is a beautiful experience that not many people would give up. And anyhow, let someone from his own town
help the poor man. Why should I give away the money that I saved up for an Esrog for me and my family? // Reb Mordechai
wasn’t thinking about himself; he was thinking about mitzvahs.

dear rebbe | my story

The Bridge to name just a few), but his

true pride and joy is connecting with
his roots and being a part of his heri-
tage. That’s why he leaves his guitar
collection at home and takes his tallit
and tefillin and ends up sitting next to
you in shul.

The guy with the

Super Bowl Ring.
There won’t be a
number on his tallit. When I Was Asking For It
But, if you get close B y D av i d C o u lt e r
enough to Alan’s
hands you’ll see a

I
small ring that tells a
big story.
have a special needs teenage daughter.
Shlomo (Alan) Veingrad, Offensive Line-
man with the Dallas Cowboys & Green
Shira is high functioning and we love her dearly.
Bay Packers, was a member of the Su- This summer we took a family vacation to Isra-
per Bowl XXVII World Champion Dallas el and I has secretly hoped that the 10-day trip
Cowboy Team in 1992. That’s how he would teach Shira something about our heritage.
got the ring. How did he end up sitting I did not know that I would be the one who was
next to you at shul? Perhaps, the intense to learn the lesson of his life.
training and performance requirements
of professional football life, helped him It happened when we went to the Western Wall to say goodbye
and pray for a good year. As you know, the economy is not
make some spiritual breakthroughs? great and family trips to Israel are not free, and as a 48-year-
old married man with two kids I have much to ask for in these
“After completing my undergraduate de- uncertain times. As we approached the wall I told my family
gree, I was signed as a free agent by the that we would write letters and put them in the cracks of the
Green Bay Packers and spent five excit- last remaining wall of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. I told Shira
ing years in Wisconsin, upholding the that G-d would read her letter and she could write what ever
traditions of Vince Lombardi and trying she wanted.
to keep quarterbacks off their backs. The My list was surely the longest as I'm starting a new business and
Jewish community of Green Bay, though need a blessing for my health and need a blessing for strength in
small, sustained me and helped me sur- my day to day battles. We all placed our notes into the cracks that
vive the isolation of being the only Jew surely lead to Heaven and as we walked away, I asked Shira what
on the team. At pre-game prayer ses- she asked for? "Ask for?" She was shocked. "I didn't ask for any-
sions, when my teammates would join thing, I wrote thank you G-d for my nice family, thank you for all my
hands and recite the Lord’s Prayer, I friends at school, and thank you for making me a Jew."
would say my own silent prayer, a Jew-
ish prayer.” To read Shlomo’s full story (The names have been changed to protect the family, but the
story teaches us a profound lesson of gratitude. We thank the
visit www.alanveingrad.com family for allowing us to print the story.)

h a s h a n a h f a l l s o n t h e 7 t h m o n t h o f t h e ye a r / / o n yo m k i p p u r, t h e h i g h p r i e s t s p r i n k l e d bl o o d i n t h e b e i t h a m i k d o s h 7 t i m e s / / we
 Practice makes perfect: A higher state of consciousness does not come by sudden enlightenment. It
act now | future is a matter of training yourself, every day, until you become used to seeing each thing in a higher way.
-“365 Meditations,” Tzvi Freeman

think
by Rabbi Shmuel Marcus

...small

Martin Cooper made the first What you don’t know is

that Marty could have
co-founder of Array Comm Inc.

wireless phone call on April 3,
1973. It was the incarnation of
his vision for personal wireless
communications, distinct from
cellular car phones.
That first call, placed to Cooper’s rival
at AT&T’s Bell Labs from the streets of
New York City, caused a fundamental
technology and communications market
shift toward the person and away from
the place. Anyone reading this today, has
in some way been impacted by this white
haired scientist.
ended up working on
Wall Street. But, a small
gift changed his life
and eventually would
change the lives of mil-
lions of cell phone users
around the globe.
It wasn’t a hundred-thousand-dollar schol-
arship to Harvard, the gift was by all stan-
dards a small one. It was a birthday gift.
Young Marty had just blown out 8 candles
and a few school mates had stopped by.
Marty’s uncle had bought a science for
kids kit. And that was the gift that made
little Marty into Martin Cooper CEO, and
The Jewish New Year is a time when we
consider resolutions for the upcoming
year. May I suggest ending poverty and
bringing global peace? But, I’d also like
to suggest thinking small this year. For
example, take only 30 minutes a day for
Torah study. Make only 1 phone call a
week to an old friend. Take only one step
closer to keeping kosher or observing the
Shabbat. You’ll see, give your self a small
gift and it will change the lives of many.
Rabbi Shmuel Marcus lives with his wife and chil-
dren in Cypress California where they run Chabad of
Cypress. Marcus is a singer-songwriter who performs
under the name 8th Day. He is also the author of
Chicken Kiev, The Ballad of the Yarmulka Kid, and is
currently the editor of this magazine.

ZALMAN GOLDSTEIN PRESENTS

NEW INSPIRATION FOR THE NEW YEAR

Preview and Order at

www.ZalmanGoldstein.com
 ROSH HASHANAH SUKKOT
Friday, Sept. 18 To purchase your own Lulav and Etrog
Light Candles at: 7:24 pm
Say Blessings 1 & 7
Evening Services: 7:15 pm
call 937-643-0770
or visit www.chabaddayton.com.
Ep«¨W§C¦w x¤W£`, m¨lFr¨d K¤l«¤n Epi«¥w÷Ρ` ii d¨Y©` KEx¨A
oFxM¦ G©d mFi l¤W±e z¨A©U l¤W x¯p wi¦l§c©d§l Ep«²E¦v±e ,ei¨zF§v¦n§A
Baruch Atah Ado-noi Elo-hei-nu Melech Ha-olam
1
Friday, Oct. 2
Light Candles at: 7:01 pm Asher Kid-sha-nu Be-mitz-vo-sav Ve-tzi-vanu
Saturday, Sept. 19
Morning Services: 9:00 am Say Blessings 5 & 7 Le-had-lik Ner Shel Shabbat V’Shel Yom Ha-zi-ka-ron.
Evening Services: 7:00 pm
Light Candles* after: 8:20 pm
Say Blessings 2 & 7
Saturday, Oct. 3
Morning Services: 9:00 am
Light Candles* after: 7:57 pm
Ep«¨W§C¦w x¤W£`, m¨lFr¨d K¤l«¤n Epi«¥w÷Ρ` ii d¨Y©` KEx¨A
oFxM¦ G©d mFi l¤W x¯p wi¦l§c©d§l Ep«²E¦v±e ,ei¨zF§v¦n§A
Baruch Atah Ado-noi Elo-hei-nu Melech Ha-olam
2
Say Blessings 6 & 7
Sunday, Sept. 20 Asher Kid-sha-nu Be-mitz-vo-sav Ve-tzi-vanu
Morning Services: 9:00 am Sunday, Oct. 4 Le-had-lik Ner Shel Yom Ha-zi-ka-ron.
Shofar Sounding: 11:15 am Morning Services: 9:00 am
Tashlich Service: 5:45 pm
Evening Services: 7:45 pm
followed by Lunch in the Sukkah
and Sukkah Hop
Ep«¨W§C¦w x¤W£`, m¨lFr¨d K¤l«¤n Epi«¥w÷Ρ` ii d¨Y©` KEx¨A
.W¤c «Ÿw« z¨A©U l¤W x¯p wi¦l§c©d§l Ep«²E¦v±e ,ei¨zF§v¦n§A 3
Rosh Hashanah Ends at: 8:18 pm Holiday Ends at: 7:55 pm Baruch Atah Ado-noi Elo-hei-nu Melech Ha-olam
Asher Ki-de-sha-nu Be-mitz-vo-sav Ve-tzi-vanu
Le-had-lik Ner Shel Shabbat Kodesh.
SHABBAT SHUVAH SHEMINI ATZERET
& SIMCHAT TORAH
Friday, Sept. 25
Light Candles at: 7:12 pm
Say Blessing 3
Friday, Oct. 9
Light Candles at: 6:50 pm
Ep«¨W§C¦w x¤W£`, m¨lFr¨d K¤l«¤n Epi«¥w÷Ρ` ii d¨Y©` KEx¨A
.mi¦xªR¦M©d mFi l¤W x¯p wi¦l§c©d§l Ep«²E¦v±e, ei¨zF§v¦n§A
Baruch Atah Ado-noi Elo-hei-nu Melech Ha-olam
4
Saturday, Sept. 26 Say Blessings 5 & 7 Asher Kid-sha-nu Be-mitz-vo-sav Ve-tzi-vanu
Morning Services: 9:00 am Evening Services: 6:30 pm Le-had-lik Shel Yom Ha-ki-pu-rim.
Shabbat Ends at: 8:08 pm Followed by Kiddush & Hakafot

YOM KIPPUR
Saturday, Oct. 10
Morning Services: 9:00 am
Ep«¨W§C¦w x¤W£`, m¨lFr¨d K¤l«¤n Epi«¥w÷Ρ` ii d¨Y©` KEx¨A
.aFh mFi l¤W±e z¨A©U l¤W x¯p wi¦l§c©d§l Ep«²E¦v±e ,ei¨zF§v¦n§A
Baruch Atah Ado-noi Elo-hei-nu Melech Ha-olam
5
Sunday, Sept. 27 Yizkor Memorial Service: 11:30 am
Asher Ki-de-sha-nu Be-mitz-vo-sav Ve-tzi-vanu
Light Candles at: 7:09 pm Evening Services: 6:15 pm Le-had-lik Ner Shel Shabbat V’Shel Yom Tov.
Say Blessings 4 & 7 Followed by Kiddush, Meal & Hakafot
Fast Begins at: 7:09 pm
Kol Nidrei Services: 7:00 pm
Light Candles* after: 7:46 pm
Say Blessings 6 & 7
Ep«¨W§C¦w x¤W£`, m¨lFr¨d K¤l«¤n Epi«¥w÷Ρ` ii d¨Y©` KEx¨A
.aFh mFi l¤W x¯p wi¦l§c©d§l Ep«²E¦v±e Ep«²E¦v±e ,ei¨zF§v¦n§A
Baruch Atah Ado-noi Elo-hei-nu Melech Ha-olam
6
Monday, Sept. 28 Sunday, Oct. 11
Morning Services: 9:00 am Morning Services: 9:00 am Asher Ki-de-sha-nu Be-mitz-vo-sav Ve-tzi-vanu
Yizkor Memorial Service: 11:30 am Followed by Kiddush & Hakafot Le-had-lik Ner Shel Yom Tov.
Afternoon Service: 5:00 pm Holiday Ends at: 7:47 pm
Neilah Closing Service: 6:00 pm
Fast Ends at: 8:05 pm
,m¨lFr¨d K¤l«¤n Epi«¥w÷Ρ` ii d¨Y©` KEx¨A
.d®G©d o©n±G©l Ep«¨ri°B¦d±e Ep«¨n±I¦w±e Ep«²i¡g¤d¤W
Baruch Atah Ado-noi Elo-hei-nu Melech Ha-olam
7
Followed by light refreshments * Light only from a pre-existing flame.
She-heh-che-yah-nu Ve-kiye-ma-nu Ve-hi-gi-ah-nu
Liz-man Ha-zeh.

Join us for
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE @ CHABAD
It's Simchat Torah
Saturday evening, October 10th 7:45 pm
Full Kiddush meal including deli meat, salads and kugels
Special children's program and dancing
Outdoor dancing on Far Hills Avenue L’chaim & Refreshments

ttimes
imes before
before they
they fell
fell //
// biblical
biblical contamination
contamination lasted
lasted 7 days
days //
// every
every shabbat
shabbat 7 people
people are
are called
called up
up to
to the
the torah
torah for
for an
an aliyah
aliyah //
// 7 noachide
noachide laws
laws pertaining
pertaining to
to all
all of
of humanity.<<
humanity
y.<< 000
 Join Chabad of Greater Dayton for the

HiJ Holiday
f No Membership Fees or Tickets
f Hebrew/English Prayer-Books
f Warm and Friendly Atmosphere
f No Background or Affiliation Necessary
f Traditional and Inspirational Services
f Special Children's Program

To RSVP or for more information please contact Chabad of Greater Dayton. At Chabad of Greater Dayton
Phone: 937-643-0770 - E-mail: chabad@chabaddayton.com 2001 Far Hills Avenue
Visit us online @ www.chabaddayton.com. Dayton, OH 45419

Friday Evening, September 18, at 7:45 pm

Join us for a traditional Rosh Hashanah dinner.
Make a sweet start to the new year with apples and
honey, round challot and a full course Yom Tov meal.
Chabad of Greater Dayton, 2001 Far Hills Avenue, Dayton, OH 45419
Cost: $15/adults, $10/children
For more info call Levi Simon at: 937-643-0770

LUNCH IN THE SUKKAH & SUKKAH HOP

Sunday, October 4 - 12:30 pm - No Charge!
Enjoy a Yom Tov lunch with family and friends in Chabad's Mitzvah
Playland Sukkah Pavilion. After a delicious lunch we will walk
throughout Oakwood admiring and visiting our neighbors Sukkahs!
Join us for part of the program or the whole thing as we bring Sukkot's
message of unity to the whole community.
Reserve by calling 937-643-0770 or logging onto www.ChabadDayton.com