important info Uptown class offerings

Hello Friends,

Tomorrow, March 26, we will begin our 12th (!) JLI Parsha series on the book of Vayikra, entilted "Approaching Completeness".

The Course:
Fulfillment does not come by finding ourselves. The Torah teaches that, counterintuitively, we achieve completeness by losing ourselves in the process of living a purpose-driven life.

Tommorow's class: Vayikra: Perfect Closeness
It’s a given fact of life that the exhilaration and joy of success and victory is always the product of strenuous effort, steady determination, and no small amount of discomfort, even pain. Whether one is seeking success in one’s studies, in one’s career or in one’s relationships, it is inevitable that there are going to be painful struggles in order to enjoy the sweetness of a reward that has been honestly earned. This is as true for spiritual goals as it is for material ones. In this week’s class we will show how the sacrifices commanded in this week’s parsha required the most painful struggles of all — the surrender of the ego, the admission of guilt, the acknowledgment of our shortcomings, and the mindfulness that our self-centeredness has distanced us from our loving Creator and from our own true happiness. But like all other struggles, the more perfectly broken the spirit is, the more perfect will be our closeness to HaShem and the feelings of earned joy and inner peace that follows. 

Click here for the entire course syllabus: http://www.torahstudies.com/courses.php?task=details&CID=33

Our Thursday classes are engaging and stimulating food for thought, with no prior knowledge necessary. Offered two times on Thursday, there is every reason why to join!

• Lunch Class: 12-1:15 pm (this week from Randalls - RSVP)
• Evening Class: 8-9 pm

The class is offered every week on Thursday and you are more than welcome to join us at any time.

Next Thursday, April 2,  we will break the course for a special class on Birchat Hachama.

Birkat HaChamah, the blessing over the sun, the rarest event in Jewish practice, is recited only once in twenty-eight years. This year, on April 8, 2009, the sun will arrive at the exact location of its creation— at the precise moment of the anniversary of its creation. Upon witnessing this extraordinary synchronization of time and place, Jews gather together to recite a blessing—Birkat HaChamah. There will be a major community event (only 30 min.) at JCC that morning 8:30-9:00 am. More at www.chabadtexas.org/sun

This special course from JLI peppered with Rabbi Chaim's anecdotes and humor will include:

• Overview of Berachot: Recognition and Thanksgiving
• A Meditation: “The heavens speak the glory of G-d.”
• Understanding the Practice
  A. Why It Does Not Resemble Idolatry
  B. When Do We Recite Birkat HaChamah?
• The Birkat HaChamah Ceremony
• The Message
  A.The Sun-Moon Relationship
  B. Aligning Time, Place, and Person

So, our class schedule will be as follows:

March 26 - Vayikra: Perfect Closeness
It’s a given fact of life that the exhilaration and joy of success and victory is always the product of strenuous effort, steady determination, and no small amount of discomfort, even pain. Whether one is seeking success in one’s studies, in one’s career or in one’s relationships, it is inevitable that there are going to be painful struggles in order to enjoy the sweetness of a reward that has been honestly earned. This is as true for spiritual goals as it is for material ones. In this week’s class we will show how the sacrifices commanded in this week’s parsha required the most painful struggles of all — the surrender of the ego, the admission of guilt, the acknowledgment of our shortcomings, and the mindfulness that our self-centeredness has distanced us from our loving Creator and from our own true happiness. But like all other struggles, the more perfectly broken the spirit is, the more perfect will be our closeness to HaShem and the feelings of earned joy and inner peace that follows.

April 2 - Special Birchas Hachama Class

April 9 & 16 Pesach Holiday - no classes

April 23 - Tazria-Metzora: Brit Milah-The Essence of Judaism
One of the most celebrated and universally observed mitzvot in Judaism is the brit milah, the circumcision. It results in the entry of the soul into the body of the infant boy, and symbolizes the entry of the child into the Jewish nation. Yet it is somewhat of a paradox that this greatest of mitzvot is done to a child who is simply too young to appreciate it. This baby boy only feels the pain, but experiences none of the gain. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate to celebrate the brit at his Bar Mitzvah when he has the ability to begin to understand this amazing connection? In today’s class we will study the mitzvah of brit milah in depth, and see how the very lack of intention and awareness on the part of the infant creates a truly unbreakable bond between the soul and its Creator.  

April 30 - Acharei-Kedoshim: Looking Upward, Downward & Forward
There is one day a year that practically every Jew is aware of: Yom Kippur. Most Jews make the effort to be in synagogue for at least part of the day, and fast, pray and reinvigorate their spiritual energy for the coming year. Much of the prayer service on Yom Kippur recalls the Temple service on this day, and many of the day’s instructions for the High Priest appear in this week’s Torah portion. But the parsha concludes with a seemingly unrelated topic — the dos and don’ts of our most intimate relationships, and refers to some of mankind’s lowliest behaviors. In this week’s class we will learn how these subjects are not contradictory, but compliment each other. Their juxtaposition is fully in keeping with the Torah’s objective of having us be mindful every day of the year of the spiritual heights that we should aspire to, the aspects of the material world that we can elevate, as well as the mundane depths of human behavior that we must avoid descending to. 

May 7 - Emor: The Ultimate Sacrifice
We often hear or read about extraordinary acts of Kiddush Hashem, which are usually connected with martyrdom in times of trouble and persecution—the many, many times throughout our history when our people have given up their lives to rather than desecrate their faith, or have died to defend the lives or the faith of their fellow Jews. But Judaism’s primary focus is on life, not on death. Thus we will see in this week’s lesson that the Torah provides a broad definition of Kiddush Hashem to include life-affirming, extraordinary acts that demonstrate HaShem’s sovereignty over the world and over the individual Jew. By reaching into the deepest point of our souls, each of us can draw fresh, daily inspiration that will take us through hard times and keep us growing even in best of times through everyday acts of Kiddush HaShem.

May 14 - Behar-Bechukotai: Tough Love
To many people, the admonitions and curses from HaShem that appear in the Torah are downright frightening. Others are perplexed by how a loving G-d could be involved in curses and punishment. But the truth of the matter is that they are nothing other than an expression of HaShem’s fatherly love, caring and compassion. While most children despise punishment, they eventually come to understand and value parental discipline. HaShem’s discipline also takes maturity and wisdom to fully appreciate. Today’s class will focus on three aspects of HaShem’s caring that are conveyed through His blessings and curses, and show how they are there to help us to make conscious and correct choices, and how they clearly mark the best and only true pathway through life. 

Chazak, Chazak, V'nischazek!