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The latest news at the Chabad Center of Sudbury

A view from the snow....

Saturday, February 14, 2015 - 8:51 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

Snow is wreaking havoc on life in Massachusetts right now and there seems to be no end in sight. My own kids have had six snow days in the last three weeks and we have spent double the amount of time sitting on the highways in traffic. To top it all off many of us are dealing with tremendous amounts of snow on our roofs, ice dams, leaks and more. Don't worry, the end is in sight, after all it will soon be Purim and then it will be time to set the table for the Seder. With that said, I did hear that Elijah has ordered a pair of skis and a snow plow to come visit homes in Massachusetts at this year’s Seders.In the world around us, every element and condition has its virtues and good applications. Ice and cold are no different, after all what would we do without ice, cold and how we use them to store things, keep food fresh and so much more. With that said, there is a famous anecdote which is told about the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of the Chassidic movement, which sheds some light on a spiritual teaching that we can take away from Ice on the other end of the spectrum.It is told, that once when the Baal Shem Tov was taking a walk with his students, he showed them a frozen river in which someone has carved some symbols which they found spiritually distasteful. As the students were contemplating what they had just seen, he pointed out that if the water had not frozen, no such symbols would have been able to be carved into the ice, but due to the intense cold the water had frozen and now someone had carved the negative symbols onto the ice.The Baal Shem Tov used this as a teaching moment to encourage his students to be warm and fired up in their spiritual service to G-d and also warm and caring to their fellow man. He pointed out that it is only when attitudes and feelings are cold and frozen, that negative things can have a deep and corrosive impact on our attitudes to our relationship with G-d or on how we relate and care for others. As I see and deal with the Ice Dams and all the problems that are being caused by water backing up, leaks into the houses and so much more, I have found myself wishing and praying for warmer weather that will somehow melt this stuff before the damage gets worse.At the same time, I am reminded of the above mentioned episode of what ice can bring about and what icy attitudes can do. I know that even if I can't warm up the outside enough to warm up and melt the ice dams, at least I can warm up my inside and how I come across to others and how passionate my connection and sense of purpose to G-d's master plan will be.Either way good luck with the next storm and staying warm and generating heat!Shabbat ShalomRabbi Yisroel Freeman

 

 

Snow is wreaking havoc on life in Massachusetts right now and there seems to be no end in sight. My own kids have had six snow days in the last three weeks and we have spent double the amount of time sitting on the highways in traffic. To top it all off many of us are dealing with tremendous amounts of snow on our roofs, ice dams, leaks and more.

Don't worry, the end is in sight, after all it will soon be Purim and then it will be time to set the table for the Seder. With that said, I did hear that Elijah has ordered a pair of skis and a snow plow to come visit homes in Massachusetts at this year’s Seders.

In the world around us, every element and condition has its… Read More »

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Superbowl & Post Superbowl!

Friday, February 6, 2015 - 4:34 PM

 The Superbowl of 2015 was the most widely watched Superbowl ever, with a viewing audience of over 150 million people, not including myself. Tens of millions of people across the country were revved up, excited and anxiously followed each throw, play and touchdown. The cheers going on simultaneously across the country were probably pretty awesome although the joy of the Patriots win was probably not as widespread.

This Saturday in the Synagogue we will be reading about another massive event that took place a little over a short while ago. This “Superbowl” was watched by a slightly smaller crowd, maybe close to two million fans, yet all of them were actually there at the game in the great outdoor stadium of Mount Sinai.… Read More »

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