Shana Tova!

Tonight begins the New Year Rosh Hashana and entering the year 5772

On Rosh Hashana we crown Hashem King and there is an elevation of the malchus. It is a time to consciously crown Hashem as our one creator and kabalas ol malchus shamayim (accept the yoke of Heaven). May everyone have a sweet new year and see only brachos

Now for some fun videos from youtube

Israel info

Areas Israel Needs to Protect

Quotes from this week's UN voting

Pres. Abbas- “We will not deal with any initiative” that does not meet our preconditions

vs

PM Netanyahu- "We have to stop negotiating about the negotiations. lets just get on with this lets negotiate peace.” 

Chabad Serving NYU

starring my friends Yaniv and Molly- fellow board members

Chabad serving NYU is taking it to the next level. They are in the process of moving into a new building that will not only expand the physical chabad house- but also be able to expand the number of students that can be affected by the Chabad house on campus. The schluchim put all their time and energy into making it a great environment for friends and learning and growth. I"m excited to come back and see the finished project  

ISRAEL

On Monday I landed in Israel where I'll be staying at Mayanot

I'm really excited to be here and I've been waiting for a long time for the chance to dedicate a solid amount of time to Torah learning. I want to give a big thank you to everyone who supported me financially or with their love and especially to my parents. Taking the year off of school was a big decision but with commitment and the right mind set I know I can make it well worth it.

So far we've had class from 745-9 or 10 and have also went on a tour of Katamon (in Jerusalem) and I've been to the Kotel and the shook, baked a banana chocolate chip cake for Shabbos, and learned even more Torah. The days are long and I'm still getting used to learning for such a long time all day but soon my mind and body will get used to it and I'll be able to internalize even more iyH. The teachers here are brilliant and we learn everything from the current situations in Israel with David Project, to the older Jewish History, Gamara, Mishna, Chumash, Parsha, Chassidus on the Parsha, Halacha, and ul pan. I'd like to say all of them are my favourites but if I had to chose I love Chasidus in the morning with Rabbi Levinger and Mishna.

Shalom from the Holy Land

Noa

**Disclaimer: the periods are all off on the document because my computer switched to hebrew format on its own, please be patient. **

Photos of untzinus women taken in Kfar Chabd...WTF?

Check out this article... I'm really opposed to any pictures taken of women just because they are wearing a tichel instead of a sheitle... its pretty ridiculous and the way a woman dresses is something that comes from such a deep place within her, having a 'pep' talk by a rebetzin is going to change that... this is ridiculous


http://www.collive.com/show_news.rtx?id=16082

Prague

Hey! So today is Friday which means its time for a dvar torah and then some pictures from Prague..


This Weeks parsha is Ki Teitzei- "When you go out". We are currently in the month of ELUL- acronym for ani ldodi vdodi li which means-  Mine is the beloved and my beloved is for me. The first two words of the parsha are ki teitzei means when you go out and first two letters- ani ldodi- i am for my beloved. This relates about going out of yourself and being for the other,  being for Gd and working on your avoda, and being ofr another person. 

What is the key to happiness? The people who are looking for happiness all hte time are the people who are furthest way from happiness- they are so focused on finding that one thing they are losing sight of everything else that is around them. The key is to GO OUT WITH JOY. It is a difficult thing to do, but wherever youre going or what you are doing, you can have a purpose doing it.  What can you do and be helpful over here, or how can you change someone's day? That is a way of looking at what you can give and do to help get out of yourself. If we do this successfully, we can eventually merit to bring moshiach, in our days iyH!! 

Have a beautiful Shabbos!!! 

--Dvar brought to you by Mayanot Moment by Rabbi Glass.

Here are pictures from yesterday and today. A big thank you to Tori and Katie for hosting me all week!!! Today we went around the Jewish quarter and went inside a bunch of the shuls. They were stunning inside filled with stained glass and designs and HUGE. I couldnt take any photos inside, but there are a few from the outside. 

In front of the philharmonic

Crossclub- where it all happens

a market that has been around since the 14th century!

A sort of atomic clock

an old shul

view of Prague

Largest metronome in the world!!

Katie and me

prague day 3

Today I finally caught up on my sleep at woke up at noon! Then Tori, Lillian, and I went to the Prague castle and gardens. here are some pictures- 'czech' them out =)

                                           Synchronized motorcycling, band, and guards.

 a well- after learning tractate eruvin I know the laws of drawing water whether in a private or public domain or karmelis. Now I finally feel its relevance.

                            Awesome band on the Charles Bridge- the trumpeter would take drags of his cigarette during other players' solos and then continue to play cigarette in hand.... haha talent.

Prague photos

                                                            Middle Building is NYU

                                                           Chabad of Prague

PRAGUE

Angels and Airwaves 'Adventure' (awesome song/lyrics, kinda weird video)


Yesterday morning I arrived in Prague to meet katie and tori for the week. after I dropped off my two medium suitcases and two carry ons, Katie and i walked into the old town while tori was in class. The city is beautiful. on Shabbos my Grandfather told me how he went to Prague for a couple days after the war before he went off to Germany to eventually find my Grandmother. He told me about the big square in the middle of the town, so when i walked into the square i envisioned my grandfather seeing the same thing just 70 ish years before. Theres this huge tower where every hour on the hour a trumpeter comes out and places on all sides of the tower. Its pretty funny how many people gather every hour to watch him. The buildings are stunning and I literally feel like I am in 'Its a small word' at Disneyland because they are all different colours (the NYU building is light blue) and are all finely decorated with either paintings, sculptures, or intricate architecture. At night we went out to a local bar and I tried an authentic Prague beer. It was great.

Today we woke up and took the tram into town and walked around the city a bit and then into the NYU building which leads me to the computer lab which leads me to this blog entry. Katie and Tori have class now for a few hours so I've arranged to meet the Chabad Rebetzin soon so I could get to know her before we go for the for Shabbos meals and I could ask them about the hechshers because its pretty confusing.

More to come lata

Parshas Shoftim

Good Shabbos everyone =) this will be my last post in the states for a while b"H =) Sunday I am starting my adventure for the year. I'm taking off two semesters at NYU and traveling and studying in the seminary Mayanot in Jerusalem. I'm going to try to update this blog once a week with the parsha and iyH another post a week updating all my friends and family about what I'm doing in Israel. Stay posted and thanks for following!

Chabad house of Yorba Linda! 

This weeks parsha is Shoftim and it begins with laws of the administration of justice.

"Judges and justices of office you shall appoint to you all your gates"
the world could not endure without justice. We need it to keep things in order and people at peace and happy. It is a mitzvah for the jewish people but also it is part of the Noahide code wich apply to all mankind. To do righteous and justice is even more acceptable to G-d than sacrifice.

There must be law and order in society if man is going to survive. all disputes should be settled by wise honest judges. However, this doesnt mean we should always run to court and initiate litigations.

"judges and officers you shall appoint to you" to and for yourself. judge yourself. search your heart and concsious before you run to court. In the Gamara it states  "settlement by arbitration is a meritorious act" it promotes peace and harmony and is 'charitable justice'

'Yeshua halevi states that "in all your gates'  in literal sense of cities but also in a figurative sense which applies to every individual. Our sages refer to our eyes ears and mouth nostrils as the 7 gates of the soul. all the orifices of the human body are referred to as gates. This parsha cautions us that it means to you- to you personally, our personal gates. We should sit in judgement of what comes into us and ensure that they remain pure. Just as they are the entry for sin and transgression, they can be the gates for holiness. When we practice honest justice and righteousness with ourselves, we avoid the need and unpleasantness of litigation with others which promotes a love for one another. We can all strive for a stronger ahvas yisroel which will help us eventually merit to bring moshiach.

May we all filter in holiness and bring Moshiach now

Good shabbos!

--This week's dvar is based off Rabbi Immanuel Schochet on chabad.org

My next post will be in Prague iyH and from then on in ERETZ YISRAEL!!!!