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As the Jewish month of Tishrei with its enriching holidays of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah come to an end, it is customary in many communities to announce:“V’Yaakov holach l’darko” – “And Jacob went on his way”, or as in a once popular English expression, “Hit the Road, Jack.” While we’ve reached the conclusion of Tishrei, a month packed with festivals, it is far from being the end of our spiritual service. Rather it is the beginning of a new kind of worship. This new worship calls on all Jacks and Jackies to hit the road! To go out into the “real” world, return to our secular day-to-day lives and infuse them with the inspiration we gained during the holidays, to live this year more Jewishly than ever before.
The story is told about Sam, who approaches a synagogue one morning only to find all the worshippers filing out. Disappointed to have arrived so late, he asks the first person he met a simple question, “Is the service all done?”
The answer was: “No, no, not at all! The service is all read; we first start the doing now.”
We come to Synagogue over the High Holidays and experience a deep sense of belonging to G-d, but that is not yet ‘doing’ the service. The real service — deep, profound Jewishness -begins when we leave the synagogue, when we meet a fellow who needs our help and we are kind, when we spend time with the members of our families and are sensitive to their needs, when we fill our homes with Jewish life, when we conduct our business with integrity. It’s there that we do the service that G-d wills us to do.
Over the last month we’ve read the services together. Let us now hit the road together, let us dotogether, let us build a more vibrant community together, let us study together.
I invite you to join us throughout the year for a weekly Shabbat experience that is uplifting and inspirational! In addition to the prayers and life lessons that are gleaned from the weekly Torah portion, this Shabbat experience is a wonderful opportunity to get to know the members of your community, and build meaningful friendships. ( Click Here for our updated schedule of services.)
Come join us at the Chabad center – because it is YOUR heritage!
Let’s Hit the Road Together!
Rabbi Mendy Paltiel
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