{"id":2850,"date":"2016-04-01T13:49:50","date_gmt":"2016-04-01T13:49:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmoscow.com.masterhost.tech\/?p=2850"},"modified":"2017-01-26T13:56:12","modified_gmt":"2017-01-26T13:56:12","slug":"wood-choppers-ball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/?p=2850","title":{"rendered":"Wood-chopper’s Ball"},"content":{"rendered":"

Shabbat Candle Lighting Times for
\nMoscow, Russia
\nFriday, April 1st
\nLight Candles at 18:49
\nShabbat, April 2nd,
\nShabbat Ends 20:06
\nTorah Portion: Shemini<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This week we had the honor and pleasure to join our good friends, the Meurer Family in Israel for the Celebration of their son Noah’s, and daughter Emma’s
\nBar and Bat Mitzvah celebration.<\/p>\n

The celebration was truly moving and meaningful. May they enjoy true Jewish “Nachas” from them in good health and joy!<\/p>\n

Woodchopper’s Ball<\/p>\n

What are you doing today?<\/p>\n

Celebrating your child\u2019s Bar\/Bat-Mitzvah? Bringing relief to a cancer patient? How about campaigning for Israel\u2019s security? Delving into the wisdom of the Talmud?<\/p>\n

These are all cosmic opportunities for meaning, and they can bring deep joy to our days.
\nBut what if your day is….regular? What if you aren\u2019t \u2013 at least today – on the \u2018front lines\u2019 of life\u2019s special moments? What if you feel like a cog in life\u2019s wheel, instead of the one driving the bus? How are YOU supposed to feel today?<\/p>\n

When we\u2019re engaged in life\u2019s beautiful experiences, it\u2019s natural for us to feel warm inside. But when we\u2019re in a support role, that spark doesn\u2019t come as naturally.<\/p>\n

At a time like that, it\u2019s important to recognize that life\u2019s most important objective is our collective goal to brings Goodness to the world. And for that, even a support role is cosmically important.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s about the goal, not personal gain.<\/p>\n

For example: I\u2019m committed to helping my children grow, spiritually and physically. I admit that I\u2019d also like some appreciation and credit from them; I\u2019d like to bask in the fruits of my labor.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s not the objective; my kids\u2019 benefit is. And if I can have even a supporting role in that, I\u2019m happy.<\/p>\n

The same applies to life in general.<\/p>\n

In the Torah, G-d gave the Jews activities known as \u2018Korbanot\u2019, or (as the Hebrew etymology indicates) \u2018exercises in drawing close [to G-d]\u2019.<\/p>\n

Each offering represented \u2013 and effected – a particular aspect of bringing life closer to its destiny.<\/p>\n

But there was one common denominator: They were all burned on the Temple\u2019s altar; each needed wood kindling.<\/p>\n

Jewish tradition attaches special significance to the Mitzvah of donating the wood, even though it was for OTHER PEOPLE\u2019S offerings.<\/p>\n

Talmud also speaks with high praise about chopping the wood.<\/p>\n

Hmmm. Someone chopped the wood. Simple, unexciting wood, which would eventually be brought to the Temple and consecrated for someone else\u2019s use on the altar.<\/p>\n

If you were the wood-chopper, would you find that moving?<\/p>\n

Real commitment to an objective (in this case a Holier world) means recognizing the beauty of every step toward that objective, even the seemingly unexciting steps, like wood-chopping. It also recognizes the beauty of facilitating other people\u2019s holy moments, because they bring meaning to the world.<\/p>\n

For Wood-choppers with vision, life is a ball.
\nShabbat Shalom!
\nRabbi Yanky Klein<\/p>\n

This email is In Loving memory of my dear father
\nR’ Yerachmiel Binyamin Halevi ben R, Menachem Klein OBM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shabbat Candle Lighting Times for Moscow, Russia Friday, April 1st Light Candles at 18:49 Shabbat, April 2nd, Shabbat Ends 20:06 Torah Portion: Shemini This week we had the honor and pleasure to join our good friends, the Meurer Family in Israel for the Celebration of their son Noah’s, and daughter Emma’s Bar and Bat Mitzvah …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[172],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2850"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2852,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2850\/revisions\/2852"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jewishmoscow.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}