You are Heavenly!

Sep 18

This season can feel heavy. The Yom Hagadol - the Big Day of Yom Kippur is upon us and it pulls deep into our soul.

This Shabbos we read the Haazinu song. It is Moshe's last blessing and instruction before his passing.

He begins with the words "pay heed heaven". There are many reasons our commentators tell us for this call upward.

A most practical teaching inspires a shift in energy for the great day of Yom Kippur.

Moshe is telling us that while we may have erred or not lived up to our fullest potential, and while we may be judged from Above, and sometimes even receive rebuke or instruction, we need to know that we are heavenly!

Our truest essence is that we are a part of Heaven, a literal part of Hashem.

Moshe is calling on us to focus more on the positive parts of who we are and less on the negative.

Take a minute right now and think about three things you can look back at 5786 and be proud of....that's the heaven in you.

Are you more inspired or less inspired now to do more good?

As we approach Yom Kippur let's see the heaven in each other, the heaven in ourselves and surely Hashem Himself will see the heaven in us too!

Gmar Chatima Tova and Good Shabbos!

Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman

Featured

Youthful Cedars!

For the first time in over 30 years, we are empty nesters. With our children married or away at school, we are rediscovering what a quiet life looks like.

Well, not exactly. We are blessed with grandchildren, a growing Chabad Center, and plenty of responsibilities, opportunities, and demands on our time. Still, some days it is nice to come home to a quiet house.

P.S. The kids still call. :-)

A1 Defensive Driving School

The Previous Rebbe’s father once told someone in a private audience:

Ever since G‑d told our father Avraham, “Go from your land,” and the Torah then records that “Avram kept travelling southward,” we have the beginning of the mystery of birurim (refining of Divine sparks). By decree of Divine Providence, a person travels to the places where the sparks they must refine await their redemption.

Finding Your Ark in a Noisy World

Self = Neshama

Trigger = Animal Soul

There is lots of noise in the world right now. Really more than our nervous systems can handle. There is the endless push of media, news, social and many other useful and useless media. Add in the negative spin of the media and its varying agendas. Throw in a little antisemitism and you are ripe for a full shut down.

Don’t Let the Inspiration Go Stale

Since October 7th, the Jewish People have changed forever. Israel has changed forever.

Many things have changed, one of the most obvious ones is that we no longer wait for our enemies to attack before we take action, we make the first move. We no longer worry what the world will think (they don't like us anyway), we're going to be proactive. It's about time! Whatever happened to self confidence?!

The Case For Simchas Torah

For starters, if you are going to do Jewish, Simchas Torah is definitely the holiday to celebrate. It has food, dancing (who doesn't like to dance and let loose), L'chaims, pretty short prayers, brisket, Jewish pride, and a little bit of holy spirituality too! All other Jewish holidays may have one or the other, but not all of them.

Secondly, the Torah is the basis of everything Jewish.

You’re Forgiven. Now Dance.

A great Rabbi (I believe Reb Simcha Bunim of Pshischa) once said that the sin we leave Yom Kippur with is not believing that G-d has forgiven us.

I don't think he meant that we don't believe G-d is capable of forgiving us.

You are Heavenly!

This season can feel heavy. The Yom Hagadol - the Big Day of Yom Kippur is upon us and it pulls deep into our soul.

This Shabbos we read the Haazinu song. It is Moshe's last blessing and instruction before his passing.

He begins with the words "pay heed heaven". There are many reasons our commentators tell us for this call upward.

The Stories We Tell Ourselves

For this commandment which I command you this day, is not concealed from you, nor is it far away.

It is not in heaven, that you should say, "Who will go up to heaven for us and fetch it for us, to tell [it] to us, so that we can fulfill it?"

Playing Hard To Get

"Ani l'dodi v'dodi li." I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine. This is the verse from Song of Songs whose initial Hebrew letters spell out the Hebrew month of Elul, the month we are currently in.

In the book of Song of Songs, we read the poetic story of a young maiden and her beloved shepherd, and the fascinating progression of their courtship.

Don’t Waste the Discomfort - Preparing for Rosh Hashanah 5787

I've never related to people who dislike the marking of theirbirthday. I find my birthday to be a joyous and positively uplifting day. Conversely, there are those who find rainy days to be uplifting and nourishing :-).

Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman

You are Heavenly!

Light Shabbat Candles in Atlanta at 6:44 pm

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Light Shabbat Candles in Atlanta at 6:44 pm -

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