After an extraordinary week in Israel, we returned home to Houston and jumped right back into the energy of Elul.
It was wonderful to have so many women together last night for our Pre Rosh Hashanah Cooking Class, and now, hello from New York, where a group of the guys is heading into a special Shabbos together at the Ohel.
This week’s parsha, Ki Seitzei, tells us, “Ki sivneh bayis chadash” — “When you build a new home.”
The Torah goes on to tell us that even before the home is complete, we have to think about how it will be lived in and make the proper preparations.
That feels very much like Elul.
The new year has not started yet, but this is our time to prepare for it. To think about what we want the coming year to look like and what we can do now to begin building it that way.
For us, that preparation has taken a few different forms this week. Coming home inspired from Israel. Women gathering together to prepare for Rosh Hashanah. And now a group of men spending Shabbos at the Ohel.
Rosh Hashanah may still be a few weeks away, but the building of the new year has already begun.
Wishing you a good Shabbos and a meaningful Elul.
Rabbi Chaim & Chanie Lazaroff
P.S. Chabad of Uptown looks forward to celebrating the holidays with you. Our doors are 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
Courage is not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it.
“When you go out to battle against your enemy, and G-d delivers him into your hands…” Our parsha begins with an important sequence. First, you go out to battle. Then Hashem delivers the enemy into your hands. Anxiety can reverse that order. We want to know that we will succeed before we are willing to act. When we cannot see that certainty, we retreat into our own mental fortress. What was meant to protect us from failure can become the very thing preventing us from moving forward.
The Torah says we go al oyvecha, “over your enemy,” rather than simply “against” it. Chassidic teachings explain that we enter the struggle already knowing that we have the advantage. If Hashem placed this challenge before us, then the challenge itself is part of our path and we have been given what we need to meet it. The practical work is getting ourselves off the diving board. Instead of waiting for certainty, identify what fear is keeping you stuck and take the first real step anyway. Once we move forward, we create the space for the Divine assistance that the verse promises.
Have an empowering Shabbos!
Have a joyous Shabbos!
Rabbi Yosef, Chanale, Mushka and Mendel Cohen
UPCOMING CLASSES:
- Wednesday, August 26, 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:
- 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.
- Friday, Sept. 4, 7:30 pm - September First Fridays Shabbat Dinner - Join Young Jewish Professionals For a Themed Shabbat Dinner at YJP Houston – where spirits run high! www.yjphouston.org
HIGH HOLIDAY SERVICES & EVENTS:
www.chabaduptown.org/celebrate
- Fri.-Sun., Sept. 11-13 - FREE Rosh Hashana Services, RSVP for Dinner and Luncheons
- Sun.-Mon., Sept. 20-21 - Yom Kippur Services and Break Fast
- Fri. & Sat. Sept. 25 & 26, 7 pm - Community Sukkot Dinners Under the Stars
- Thursday, October 1, 6:30 pm - Smoke, Mirrors & Sukkot w/ YJP, YAD & Olami - Join young professionals in their twenties and thirties for an evening of magic, dinner, drinks and joy in the Sukkah under the Stars! www.yjphouston.org
- Friday, Oct. 2 6:45 pm - YJP October First Fridays Shemini Atzeres Edition - Simchas Torah warm-up brief dancing and dinner in the sukkah
- Shabbos. Oct. 3 12:15 pm - Shemini Atzeret Yizkor with special Service to Honor the Memory of the Oct. 7 massacre
- Shabbos, Oct. 3, 6:45 pm - Saturday Night ALIVE! Simchat Torah Uptown - Dance like a Star!
IN PHOTOS
Volunteer in Israel Summer Trip - See the photos from our unforgettable Volunteer in Israel trip and relive the incredible week of giving, connecting, and experiencing Israel together. Click here.
SHABBOS PARSHAS KI SEITZEI
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21, ELUL 8
7:30 pm Mincha & Shabbat Services
7:38 pm Shabbos Candle Lighting
RSVP for Shabbat Dinner chabaduptown.org/shabbatdinner
SHABBOS, AUGUST 22, ELUL 9
10:00 am Services
Shabbos Lunch Kiddush & Farbrengen
7:35 pm Mincha
Ethics of our Fathers, Chapter 1 & 2
8:32 pm Maariv, Havdalla and Shabbos ends
Living Torah
SUNDAY, AUGUST 23, ELUL 10
8:00 am Shacharis
MONDAY & THURSDAY, AUGUST 24 & 27, ELUL 11 & 14
6:45 am Shacharis
During the month of Elul:
We reciting Psalm 27, L’David Hashem Ori, daily
We blow the Elul shofar after Shacharis each day through Erev Rosh Hashanah.
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.