Weekly Newslinks

Please note that Rabbi Davies will be away until Sunday, November 2nd. Rabbi Davies will be somewhat limited in his communication due to travel and the time difference, but he will be checking WhatsApp and Email periodically throughout
​​​​​​​his trip.

Announcements & Upcoming Events

Schedule for the Weekend

I am very excited for the opportunity to share words of Torah with you. Each week, in this spot, I look to share an idea I've found that speaks to me and that I think will resonate with you as well. This week, I share with you an excerpt from an article  by Katia Bolotin entitled "Transforming Potential in Action" which speaks to each of us through the opening words of this Parsha to find our personal connection.

[...] When [...] God tells Avram to leave his land, his birthplace, and his father’s home, He is requesting much more than a mere change of physical location. Lech lecha means “go to yourself.” How can we become whom we truly could be when so much of our identities and value systems have been shaped and influenced by everything outside of us?

“Go to yourself” necessitates self-actualization. It challenges people to make what they know their own. Even those of us who were raised in an ideal home with positive values and influences must take ownership of those values. We can’t just pay lip service to our father’s or our mother’s Torah teachings. Robotic and rote observance is static. Each of us, in his or her unique way, must embrace our own Torah in a way that is relevant to who we are. The Torah never changes, yet as we do, deeper probing into its inner meanings ultimately will affect us for the better.

Lech lecha can be understood as “go for yourself.” As God said to Avram that he should go, Avram understood something deeper. He saw this not as only about him. God was sending Avram on a journey—a mission with a purpose. And so Avram turned a journey into a Divine mission. By listening to God’s words, he, in turn, became God’s vehicle, or agent. Avram’s real test was whether or not to accept this mission. And so is ours. The mitzvot, commandments, give us this opportunity.

This is what God expected of Avram. In order for his latent potential to become fully actualized, Avram’s perspective and relationship to his Creator had to be deepened and personalized. God tested Avram ten times. With each test, Avram was permanently altered in some way. In their totality, these tests served to cultivate and harvest seeds of potential into acts of fruition. The succession of tests challenged Avram to redirect his instincts—his very nature—in such a radical way, that his name no longer could express his newly minted persona. And so, a change of name from Avram to Avraham signified an even greater, more magnified capacity to impact mankind and human destiny.

To the extent that we as individuals cultivate a personal and growing relationship with our Creator, we deepen and expand our receptacle for blessing. Each mitzvah that we observe mindfully, and with full and proper intent, creates a spiritual conductor to interface with, and to receive, the positive flow of blessing that we merit. A mitzvah is a spiritual connector, or charger, that enables one to be identified as a conduit to spiritual energy and abundance. [...] Our Sages teach us that Torah preceded Creation itself. The Zohar writes that “God looked into the Torah and created the world.” Hashem looked, as it were, into the Torah as a guide and blueprint for all of creation. To better understand and maximize our own lives, shouldn’t we do the same? [...]

Shabbat Shalom from Eretz Yisrael,
Rabbi Davies
Rabbi@SOICherryHill.org

We are excited to be partnering with Mizrachi World Movement to provide their publication of HaMizrachi Parasha Weekly.

Mitzvah Day at New Camden Cemetery

Special thanks to everyone who participated in the Mitzvah Day at New Camden Cemetery on Sunday.  The group cleared fallen branches, removed trash, repaired portions of the fence and removed stumps & bushes from the Jewish sections. In addition, SOI teenagers helped with our documentation project of creating a database of the 1300 Jewish deceased buried there.

This was truly a Chesed Shel Emet in helping to restore this historic Jewish cemetery.

Thank you to all those who participated: 
Don Becker, Rabbi Michael Davies, Ari Edelstein, Debbie Fineberg, Akiva Fischman, Shari Goldberg, Eric Klein, Kobi Littwin, Marc Littwin, Nate Weiner, Aaron Yeres 

SOI Teenagers: Yehosuha Davies, Mattan Elisha, Eli Gal, Zev Goldstein, Yair Klein, Judah Kuralansik, Dani Spector, Gavi Weiner, Yaakov Yeres, Yitzchak Yeres

 Special thanks to Aaron Yeres for his organizational help.

Sid Goldberg
Chair, New Camden Cemetery Committee, Jewish Community Foundation 

Volunteers Wanted!

 Volunteers wanted to help with Kiddush - preparation, set up, and clean up! Please contact Yaakov Linder to get involved.
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Looking for someone to help with an organizing project in the shul. Please reach out to Chani Wiesman if this is your area of expertise and you may be willing to help out!
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Volunteers are needed to help with a Kitchen project. Please contact Debbie Fineberg with questions or to get involved. 

Thank you to the volunteers who helped with last week's Kiddush. 

Thank you to the volunteers who helped with last week's Seudah Shlishit.

We regret to inform you of the passing of
Ethan Chamow, beloved father of Ariel (Rabbi Josh) Kohl.

The funeral took place on Sunday, October 26th.

 Ariel Kohl will be sitting at her mother's home at
7708 Langdon Street, Philadelphia, PA 19111

Visits are welcome throughout the week until Friday afternoon.

Thank you to Meir Miskin, Carrie Miskin, David Mendelovitz, Aaron Rubenstein, Nate Wiener, Debbie Fineberg, Sam Tilonsky and JFED Security Officer Bill DiCola for providing security on shabbos

A complete list of Cholim and Chayalim that have been submitted to SOI can be  www.soicherryhill.org/cholim-chayalim
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Congregation Sons of Iarael
720 Cooper Landing Road
Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08002