Shul is Paused – No Services this week - we will reopen next week
NO Services this Week
Please note that we are pausing shul this week. G-d willing we will be up and running again next week. We want to be absolutely sure that the current spike is under control before resuming weekly services, so, for the time being, this will be a week by week decision. We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause.
Weekly Sermon Friday @ 5pm on Facebook Live
Join Rabbi Eilfort this afternoon at 5pm as he gives his weekly sermon as a Facebook Live event. If you have not already done so, please send Rabbi Eilfort (Yeruchem Eilfort) a Friend Request on Facebook!
Easy Fundraising Opportunity
First, let us take this opportunity to thank all of those who have had Facebook Birthday Fundraisers for Chabad at La Costa! I cannot tell you how much Nechama & I appreciate it! The money we have received through these fundraisers has helped our shul continue with programming, delivering soup and challah as well as other activities.
Do you have a birthday coming up? We would be honored if you would consider making our shul the recipient of your birthday fundraiser. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to celebrate your birthday and do a wonderful Mitzvah at the same time? Thank you for your consideration and Happy Birthday!
Chicken Soup, Challah Available
Those who live near Chabad at La Costa are welcome to let us know if you want some delicious Challah and/or Chicken Soup delivered to you on Friday to help you celebrate Shabbat in the most delicious way possible.
Please note that all food is prepared and delivered using recommended safeguards.
Thank you to our Sponsors!
We are most appreciative of those who are generously stepping forward to help us with our dedication opportunities for our weekly Soup, Challah, and Torah Classes!
Specifically we would like to acknowledge Channah Hale who has been tremendously generous!
This week's Loaves of Love is sponsored by Channah Hale.
This week's Chicken Soup is sponsored by Jon and Julie Rozansky.
We are still looking for a sponsor for this week's Torah Classes.
If you would like to sponsor an upcoming week please respond to this message or simply donate securely online by following one of the links found below.
Ways to Give
We would be nowhere without the generous support of our community. Please know that your support is profoundly appreciated!
There are many ways to donate besides for checks and cash. Following please find a list of the various other ‘platforms’ that are available for secure donations that go directly and entirely into the synagogue account.
1. PayPal [email protected] or PayPal.me/Neilfort
2. Venmo @Nechama-Eilfort
3. Cashapp $nechamae
4. Zelle (Bank of America) [email protected]
5. Personal credit card chabadatlacosta.com/donate
Havdala Live with Rabbi Yossi
Join Rabbi Yossi Rodal on Facebook Live on Saturday night at 8:30pm for a meaningful Havdalah service. Following Havdalah Rabbi Yossi will share an uplifting Chasidic story as is traditional on Saturday night.
A Word of Torah - Living with the Times
Parshat Pinchas
By: Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort
This week’s Torah portion is named after a decisive, passionate, and exceedingly brave man, Pinchas the son of Elazar, the son of Aaron the (High) Priest. Last week’s portion concluded with the horrific sin carried out by a leader of the Tribe of Shimon whose name was Zimri. He publicly sinned with a Midianite Princess, Cozbi. When Pinchas saw the debauchery he followed the letter of the law and killed the sinners. He did so at great personal risk, as Zimri’s fellow tribesmen felt outraged that Pinchas would take the law into his own hands. Despite the imminent danger posed to his person Pinchas plunged forward and did what needed to be done.
Zimri was not the only person to sin with the Midianites, in fact a large number of people, particularly from the Tribe of Shimon participated. Due to their audacious sinfulness a terrible plague broke out and many thousands died. Pinchas’ quick actions lessened the extent of the plague and actually saved the lives of many people. It is for this reason that Pinchas was blessed with being made a Kohen (Priest) despite the fact that he had not been born one.
If we take a step back and review the story of the Jewish people after leaving Egypt we find several uplifting events, but we also see several failures. Some of the failures were quite dramatic and had far-reaching consequences for not only that generation, but for the future of the entire Jewish people in perpetuity. It can be argued that some of their decisions then impact us until today.
This week when thinking about these catastrophes I couldn’t help but think about the triumph of one particular segment of the Jewish people; Jewish women. The major failures that come to mind include the story of the Golden Calf, the Spies, the Rebellion of Korach and his cohorts, and consorting with the Midianites. The lack of participation by the Jewish women is in stark contrast to their Jewish brethren. Time and again the men failed – to the extent that the generation that left Egypt was destined to die in the desert rather than enter the Holy Land. We see disastrous plagues pummel the Jewish people. In fact during their 40-year sojourn in the desert their numbers decreased! But through it all the woman stayed strong and true, always remaining loyal adherents to the Torah.
In the portion of Pinchas we are reintroduced to the five daughters of Tzalafchad. Their father had died previously due to a sin. The rabbis discuss which specific sin he committed; it was either gathering wood on Shabbat or trying to conquer the land after G-d had already said not to – due to the sin of the spies. Tzalafchad had no sons, only daughters. When the laws of inheritance were first shared no provision was made for daughters who were in a family where there were no sons. That is until the daughters of Tzalafchad spoke up.
They firmly but respectfully pointed out a seeming inconsistency in the Torah regarding the status of a widowed woman who has no sons, only daughters, and the fact that no levirate marriage applies to her. If daughters count to negate levirate marriage, why should they not count to inherit land? Moshe was stumped by their question. He was also moved by it, so he presented the question to Almighty G-d, and prayed that G-d would respond positively. Indeed that is exactly what happened. In the merit of the Daughters of Tzalafchad the laws of inheritance were amended.
Strong women is a hallmark of Judaism. Jews have always been fiercely insistent on the need to give women the best Jewish educational opportunities. When contemporaries of the early Hebrews were treating their women as possessions, Jewish law made sure that the Jewish woman would be treated with the dignity and respect she deserves. And the Torah clearly spells out who remained righteous during the most difficult times and by whose merit we continue to exist till this very day.
It is for these very reasons that I cringe when people say that traditional Judaism treats women as second class citizens. It is absolutely ignorant and patently false to claim so.
May our righteous Jewish women lead us to the speedy arrival of the righteous Moshiach!
Wishing everyone an uplifting, joyous, and HEALTHY Shabbos!
Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort is Director of Coastal Chabads and Chabad at La Costa. Rabbi Eilfort welcomes readers’ comments and questions and may be reached at [email protected].
Haftarah Thought
By: Chabad.org
I Kings 18:46-19:21.
The prophet Elijah is the main protagonist of this week's haftorah. According to tradition, Elijah shared the same soul as Pinchas, the hero of this week's Torah portion. They also both zealously fought on G‑d's behalf, while disregarding the dangers involved.
Following the showdown with the Baal prophets at Mount Carmel, which led to the execution of the Baal priests, the evil Queen Jezebel issued a death sentence for Elijah. Elijah fled to the Judean desert and asked G‑d to take his life. While he slept, an angel awoke him and provided him with food and drink. Reenergized, Elijah went for forty days until he arrived at Mount Horeb (Sinai), and he slept in a cave on the mountain. And the word of G‑d came to him and asked him for the purpose of his visit. "And [Elijah] said: 'I have been zealous for G‑d, the Lord of Hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant. They have torn down Your altars and they have killed Your prophets by the sword, and I have remained alone, and they seek my life to take it."
Elijah was instructed to leave the cave and stand on the mountain: "Behold! G‑d's Presence will pass." There was a great and strong wind splitting mountains and shattering boulders, but Elijah realized that G‑d was not in the wind. Then came an earthquake followed by fire, but again Elijah understood that not in the earthquake nor the fire was G‑d. After the fire there was a subtle silent voice, and Elijah realized that the Divine Presence had appeared.
G‑d asked Elijah again for the purpose of his visit, and Elijah repeated his earlier response. G‑d instructed Elijah to go to Damascus and anoint Hazael as king of Aram and Jehu as king of Israel and to anoint Elisha as a prophet in his stead. These three would continue Elijah's battle against the Baal.
Elijah followed the instructions and he immediately found Elisha and recruited him as his aide and eventual successor.
