NO Services - Coronavirus is Spiking so We are Paused
Coronavirus is Spiking so We are Pausing Until Safe
The shul IS NOT open for services this Shabbos due to the spike in coronavirus cases. We will, G-d willing, reopen as soon as it is deemed safe.
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!
Shabbat Chazon
The Shabbat before the 9th of Av is called Shabbat Chazon, which means the Shabbos of Vision. It is named for the Haftarah (see below for full explanation). On this Shabbat each of us is granted the opportunity to grasp a vision of the Messianic Era, we just have to open our eyes to see it.
Tisha B’Av – The 9th of Av
This coming Wednesday evening through Thursday night (July 29th – 30th) is the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. We commemorate both Holy Temples being destroyed, the first by the Babylonians and the second by the Romans. It is a 25-hour fast. To learn more about this important day follow this link: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144575/jewish/What-Is-Tisha-BAv.htm
There are numerous customs and laws associated with this day that is actually described as the birthday of Moshiach. To learn the laws and customs follow this link: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144574/jewish/The-Nine-Days.htm
Join Rabbi Eilfort on Facebook Live on Wednesday, July 29th at 8pm for an inspiring and educational talk about Tisha B’Av. Remember, you must be Rabbi Eilfort’s friend on Facebook to see it. If you have not already done so please friend request Yeruchem Eilfort 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 - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
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 call Nechama if you are available to drive or braid this week...
Please note that all food is prepared and delivered using recommended safeguards.
Sponsors Appreciated (And Needed)
These are extraordinary times. Many people are reaching out for help and, Baruch Hashem / thank G-d, we are HERE to help! ‘We’ means YOU and US, TOGETHER. It is an amazing partnership that we have!
We are extremely grateful to those who have reached out to help fund us, enabling us to serve others.
We would like to specifically acknowledge at this time:
Channah Hale for her generous sponsorship of the Challahs. Channah has been absolutely phenomenal in her generous sponsorships! We thank her for her kindness and love.
We are seeking additional sponsors for the following dedications:
Next week’s Loaves of Love.
Next week’s Chicken soup.
Next week’s Torah classes.
Note About Sponsorships
You may have noticed that we seek multiple sponsors for the Challah, Soup, and Torah classes. We do this because we need to find ways to cover our budgetary shortfall that has been caused by the coronavirus. The donations coming to the shul have been dramatically reduced. We greatly appreciate those of you who are still supporting us! G-d bless you! We greatly appreciate your understanding as we seek ways of propping up the income necessary to keep things afloat. Your ideas about additional income streams are likewise greatly appreciated!
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 Devarim – Deuteronomy
By: Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort
This week we begin the fifth and final book of the Torah, the Book of Devarim. This book is unique in its style and content. The previous books of the Torah, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, were all written by Moses serving as G-d’s recording secretary, so to speak. This book, on the other hand, while being from G-d has more of the human element within it. Moses gave us the human perspective of the Divine Law.
As we all know it is tremendously important for us to study Torah as the unfiltered word of G-d. If there is something that we do not understand within the Torah, it is our intellect that is lacking, not the Giver of the Torah’s. At the same time, however, it is essential that we use our heads in studying and analyzing the Torah. G-d does not want us to be robotic in our service of Him. Instead He wants us to serve Him with our entire being, which of course includes our intellect. This transitionary book written with the human perspective demonstrates to us how this approach is meant to look.
How do we, realistically, find a balance between approaching Torah study as foot soldiers who simply do what they are told, and intellectual beings who must view Torah ideals through the lens of human experience and understanding?
We can accomplish this through the meticulous work of nurturing our faith in the Torah’s divinity and its divine Source, and then studying and following the Torah with this fact in mind. The fact is the more one fulfills the Torah’s mandates and studies the Torah, the more of the Divine Wisdom one will come to appreciate.
We must not view the Torah as another interesting subject that deserves some of our attention when we can get around to it. It should not even be approached as something we study once or twice a week – even if that study is undistracted and intense.
No. The Torah is our life! We must create set times for Torah study every single day. In fact, we should approach Torah study with intense thirst, so that we have to pull ourselves away from it in order to go make a living. But even as we close the book, we take and live by its eternal message so that our day is full of Torah. Then at night, when the work of the day is over, it is time to again open up the book and fill our souls with its nurturing energy.
Wishing everyone an uplifting, joyous, and HEALTHY Shabbos!
Haftarah Thought
From: Chabad.org Isaiah 1:1-27.
This week's haftorah is the third of a series of three "haftarot of affliction." These three haftarot are read during the Three Weeks of mourning for Jerusalem, between the fasts of 17 Tammuz and 9 Av.
Isaiah relays to the Jews a G‑dly vision he experienced, chastising the residents of Judah and Jerusalem for having rebelled against G‑d, criticizing them for repeating their errors and not abandoning their sinful ways — even after having been reprimanded and punished. "Woe to a sinful nation, a people heavy with iniquity, evildoing seed, corrupt children. They forsook G‑d; they provoked the Holy One of Israel." Harsh words are employed, comparing the Jewish leaders to the rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah. G‑d states his distaste for their sacrifices and offerings which were flavored with pagan customs. "How has she become a harlot, a faithful city; it was once full of justice, in which righteousness would lodge, but now it is a city of murderers…"
Isaiah then speaks gentler words, encouraging the people to repent sincerely and to perform acts of justice and kindness towards the needy, orphans and widows, and promising them the best of the land in return for their obedience. "If your sins prove to be like crimson, they will become white as snow; if they prove to be as red as crimson dye, they shall become as wool." The haftorah concludes with a promise that G‑d will eventually reestablish Israel's judges and leaders, when "Zion shall be redeemed through justice and her penitents through righteousness."
Note: The first word of the haftorah is "Chazon" ("The vision [of Isaiah]"). The Shabbat when this haftorah is read, the Shabbat before Tisha b'Av, is thus called "Shabbat Chazon," the "Shabbat of the Vision." According to chassidic tradition, on this Shabbat the soul of every Jew is treated to a "vision" of the third Holy Temple that will be rebuilt with the coming of Moshiach. Click here for more on this topic.
