Something special is happening in Houston, and it has a very personal connection to our Chabad of Uptown and YJP Houston family.
On Monday, August 31, Chabad Lubavitch of Texas will hold the Building A New Day, Building Inheritance Campus Benefit Dinner, and we are proud that several of this year’s honorees are so closely connected to our own community.
We are proud to honor Dr. Ron (and Mollie) Karni. Ron is Rabbi Chaim’s childhood friend, and their family has been part of Chabad of Uptown for many years, with all of their children celebrating their Bar and Bas Mitzvahs with us.
We are also especially proud to honor Dr. Rebecca Attal, a member of YJP Houston whom Chanie had the privilege of teaching years ago in early childhood preschool. To now see Rebecca as an accomplished young Jewish professional and active part of YJP Houston beautifully reflects what Jewish education and community are ultimately about.
They will be honored together with Shmuel and Michele Amber, whose lead generosity is helping make the new campus possible, and Rabbi Chaim's mother, Rebbetzin Chiena Lazaroff, for her lifetime of dedication to Jewish education in Houston for young and old.
The dinner will benefit the largest project Chabad Lubavitch of Texas has undertaken to date: the development of a new educational campus on 12 acres, designed to create the capacity for the continued growth of Jewish education in Houston.
The vision for the next phase includes a new preschool, a Motherhood Center providing a social and play space for new mothers and young families together with education, wellness, newborn support and parenting resources, as well as expanded opportunities for Torah Day School and Camp Gan Israel.
This week’s Parsha, Re’eh, contains a verse that speaks directly to this moment:
“When Hashem your G-d expands your boundary, as He has promised you…”
Ki yarchiv Hashem Elokecha es gevulcha.
Baruch Hashem, Houston’s Jewish community is growing, and so are the opportunities before us. This campus is about creating the space and capacity for that growth to continue.
In many ways, the people we are honoring tell that story themselves: a lifelong educator, transformational donors, a family whose children grew up celebrating their Jewish milestones at Chabad of Uptown, and a former preschool student who is now part of the next generation of YJP Houston.
Rabbi Chaim is personally leading this historic project, and we would truly appreciate having you be part of it.
Please join us on Monday, August 31 as our table guests and/or consider placing an ad in the dinner journal. BuildingaNewDay.com
Your participation would mean a great deal to us as together we build the foundation for the next chapter of Jewish growth in Houston.
Good Shabbos Kesivah vachasimah tovah, may you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.
Rabbi Chaim and Chanie Lazaroff
P.S. Chabad of Uptown looks forward to celebrating the holidays with you. Our doors are open to the entire Jewish community to daven and to celebrate, regardless of background or affiliation. For the complete schedule of services, to RSVP for holiday dinners or lunches, visit www.chabaduptown.org/services.
P.P.S. Now is also the time to join or renew your voluntary membership to Chabad. Your partnership allows us to provide free, open and welcoming services to all, for the holidays and year round! www.chabaduptown.org/membership
THE COHEN CORNER
Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.
Do you know the holiest Jewish site in the world? Of course you do. Everyone does. Yerushalayim and the Temple Mount have been at the center of Jewish life for thousands of years. We face Yerushalayim three times a day in prayer, remember it in our times of joy, and have prayed for generations to return there. Yet Moshe spends enormous amounts of time teaching the Jewish people exactly how the Temple service should work, but never tells them where the Temple will be built. Instead, the Torah repeatedly calls it simply “the place that Hashem will choose.” Why keep the location of the holiest place in Judaism a secret?
The answer may lie in the Torah’s own words: “You shall seek His presence and come there.” Hashem wanted the Jewish people to seek out the place themselves. Yerushalayim could not simply be an address handed down from Heaven; the Jewish people had to desire it, search for it, and take the initiative to make it Hashem’s home. Only after King David sought out and chose the site did Hashem confirm that choice. And perhaps that is the lesson for us as well. We often wait for the right moment to become better, more connected, or more purposeful. But holiness doesn’t always begin with a sign from above. Sometimes it begins when we make the first move: setting aside time for Torah study, taking on another mitzvah, making Shabbat more meaningful, or being there for someone who needs us. Hashem chooses the place, but first He asks us to seek it.
Have an outstanding Shabbos!
Rabbi Yosef, Chanale, Mushka & Mendel Cohen
UPCOMING CLASSES:
- Shabbos, August 8, 9:30 am - Likkutei Torah - Kabbala of the Parsha - Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi's Masterworks on the weekly Parsha.
- Monday, August 10, 8 pm - Hebrew Language: The Tanya with Rabbi Menny Raichik
- Wednesday, August 12, 8:00 pm - YJP Dinner, Class & Social
- Tuesday, September 1, 12:00 pm - Lunch & Learn: Tehillim, Faith in Uncertain Times - RSVP at chabaduptown.org/lunch.
UPCOMING EVENTS:
- Friday, August 7, 7:30 pm - Welcome to Houston: Citrus & Herbs August First Fridays Shabbat Dinner - New to Houston or already part of the YJP family? Join us for our August First Fridays Citrus & Herbs Shabbat. Whether you just moved here or have been with us for years, come enjoy a fresh summer dinner, welcome new faces, reconnect with friends and celebrate Shabbat together with the YJP Houston community. Services 7:30 pm, Candle Lighting 7:52 pm, Dinner 8:45 pm. $20 using coupon "advance" until Thursday. $36 after that. yjphouston.org/welcome.
- Sunday, August 9 - Met at Chabad: The Biggest Global Jewish Dating Virtual Event. Jewish singles from around the world will come together for the biggest virtual Jewish dating event, an opportunity that has already led to hundreds of matches, engagements, and marriages, including many from right here in Houston, and could be the conversation that changes your life. RSVP at metatchabad.com.
- Sunday, August 9-Monday, August 17 - Volunteer in Israel: Chabad of Uptown Volunteer Mission with Birthright Israel. A community volunteer mission for active adults ages 18 and up, including those 50+. Israel needs us again. We are going back! - www.chabaduptown.org/israeltrip.
- Thursday, August 20, 6:30 pm - Women’s Pre-Rosh Hashanah Cooking Demo & Tasting with Chanie and Chanale at Chabad of Uptown, 4311 Bettis Drive. chabaduptown.org/cook
- Shabbos Weekend, August 21-23 - Men’s Shabbos at the Ohel - Whether it’s your first visit or a return trip, this Shabbos is a chance to recharge, reflect, and connect with the Rebbe’s timeless vision during an inspiring weekend of Jewish growth and brotherhood.
- Sunday, August 23, 12:30 pm - FCYA Shofar Factory with Friends - Create it, blow it, own it! Join volunteers of YJP Houston with FCYA (Friendship Circle of Houston - Young Adults) to fabricate shofars together with Young Adults with special needs for a morning of fun, camaraderie and integration. $10 prepaid with coupon code “advance,” $18 at the door. RSVP at yjphouston.org/fcyashofar.
- Friday, August 28, 8:30 PM and Shabbos, August 29, 1:00 PM – Community Shabbaton: When Science Meets Ultimate Power with Guest Rabbi Yechiel Krisch - Explore a rational case for G-d and a Torah perspective on nuclear power over Friday night dinner and Kiddush lunch. RSVP required.
- Wednesday, September 2, 7:00 PM – Grand Challah Bake - A pre-Rosh Hashanah evening of braiding, bonding and live music. A joint partnership of the Chabad centers in Uptown, Bellaire and Medical Center. RSVP at GrandChallahBake.com.
SHABBOS MEVARCHIM ELUL, PARSHAS RE'EH
FRIDAY, AUGUST 7, MENACHEM AV 24
7:30 pm Mincha & Shabbat Services
7:52 pm Shabbos Candle Lighting
RSVP for Welcome to Houston: Citrus & Herbs August First Fridays Shabbat Dinner yjphouston.org/welcome
Sponsored in part by Yonatan & Liora Tzion
SHABBOS, AUGUST 8, MENACHEM AV 25
8:00 am Shabbos Mevarchim Tehillim
9:30 am Chassidus
10:00 am Services
Shabbos Mevarchim Lunch Kiddush & Farbrengen sponsored by the Gandjian family in memory of their grandfather Yosef Mordechai ben Saltanat V'Rabi, a"h
7:50 pm Mincha
Ethics of our Fathers, Chapter 5
8:47 pm Maariv, Havdalla and Shabbos ends
Living Torah
SUNDAY, AUGUST 9, MENACHEM AV 26
8:00 am Shacharis
MONDAY AUGUST 10, MENACHEM AV 27
6:45 am Shacharis
ROSH CHODESH ELUL
THURSDAY & FRIDAY, AUGUST 13-14, MENACHEM AV 30 & ELUL 1
6:45 am Shacharis w/ Hallel, Torah Reading & Musaf
On Rosh Chodesh Elul:
We begin reciting Psalm 27, L’David Hashem Ori, daily
Beginning Friday, we blow the Elul shofar after Shacharis each day through Erev Rosh Hashanah.
Beginning Friday, we recite the daily chapters of Tehillim as divided by the Baal Shem Tov for the 40 days from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Yom Kippur.
Shacharis will be followed by our monthly Rosh Chodesh breakfast
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