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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 Rabbi Noach Weinberg Z"L entitled "Thanks, But No Thanks" about recognizing the good that others do for us and through that recognizing HaShem.

[...] Jacob has completed the 14 years of work that he committed to do for Laban in exchange for marrying his daughters Rachel and Leah, and now he wants to return to Israel. Laban is not happy to see Jacob go, however [...] Laban [tells] Jacob, “I figured out the secret to my wealth – God blessed me because of you. Now, of course I don't want you to work for nothing, so let's cut a deal and figure out a way for you to continue working for me.” What is so striking is that Laban says that God, the transcendental, eternal Source of existence, is the One Who blessed him on account of Jacob. Does this appreciation of God sound like the Laban we know? Why has he suddenly become so pious?

[...] One person understood Laban’s true intentions, and that was Jacob. [...] Jacob [confronts] Laban and [tells] him, "I see right through your verbiage and lies. Yes, God blessed you because of me. That's true, Laban. But God isn't the only One you need to thank. You cannot ignore the fact that I worked hard for your sheep. I was the one who took care of your livestock and increased the size of your flock. You owe me as well. And if you cannot recognize your debt of gratitude to me, then don't talk to me about how much the Almighty did for you." Jacob has Laban's number. He understands that hakarat hatov, gratitude, begins with appreciating the debt you have toward humans. If you cannot admit to that more concrete debt of gratitude, then you cannot truly recognize your more ephemeral debt of gratitude to God. It’s all a sham.

[...] Laban is willing to recognize God’s existence and even admit that the Almighty Himself is involved in the affairs of man and has personally blessed him, as long as he does not have to admit that he owes Jacob anything. That is why Laban suddenly uses the word God, which he never mentions again in the Torah.

Unless we are willing to recognize our debt of gratitude to our fellow man – whether it is to our parents, our friends, our teachers, or to anyone else who tries to help us – and to appreciate that the effort alone creates a debt of gratitude, then we do not recognize the good done to us. As a result, we will not be able to appreciate what the Almighty has given us, either. In the end, we may even say, “I do not know God. I did all this myself. It was my hard work, my intelligence, my commitment, that brought this about. I don’t owe God anything.”

We bristle against the idea that we are indebted to others. We do not like to recognize the good people do for us, for we think that being beholden to them impinges on our independence. But we are deceiving ourselves, just as Laban did. Real independence means having the inner strength and humility to appreciate the gifts we have received from the people in our lives. Doing so is the only way to truly appreciate the gifts we have received from the Almighty as well.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Davies
Rabbi@SOICherryHill.org

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

We were so privileged this past Shabbat to host and learn from Rabbanit Noa Lewis. Rabbanit Lewis runs an organization called Echad, whose mission is fostering unity, compassion, and global connection. Through her vision, Echad is building bridges across communities and inspiring meaningful change.
We wanted to give our community the opportunity to support her work at Echad, you can support this mission at https://echad.world/donation/.

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!

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.

Thank you to Karen & Marc Hess, Michelle & Yoni Goldstein, Elyse & Aaron Greenberg, Alise & Kenneth Panitch, Ilana & Jeffrey Weiss, Brett Steenbarger, and Neely & Elon Elisha for sponsoring the Friday Night Dinner. 

Thank you to the sponsors of our Scholar in Residence Weekend with Rabbanit Noa Lewis 'In loving memory of Benna Golubchik z"l' and to the Zichron Aryeh Visiting Scholar Series Fund.
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Thank you to Debbie Friedner for organizing the Bikur Cholim lecture given by Bob Kieserman. Bob shared his wealth of knowledge about the health industry. The event was  well attended, and  gift certificates from local restaurants and merchants were   raffled off. Stay tune for further programs to fundraise our mission.​​​​

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With Gratitude to the Community
Diane Irwin and family would like to thank our friends and the entire community for your condolences, support, shiva visits, text messages, phone calls, and tons of delicious food delivered to our home following the loss of my mother, Sarah Ritzner, (Sarah bat Rachel and Yosef). Special thank you to Rabbi Davies for helping guide and coordinate Kaddish logistics as well as being available anytime I had a question. Thank you to the men attending weekly minyan for your kindness in helping me with weekday kaddish - with special mention to Shia Gindoff, Rabbi Teichman, and Chaim Kress. 
- Diane Irwin 

Mazel tov to Andy Rauer on the birth of a new granddaughter, and to proud parents Daniel & Peninnah (Josie) Rauer of Florida.

Thank you to Bob Belfer, Harvey Chaitoff, Debbie Fineberg, Jeff Liss, Steve Koloski,  Adam Shulman, Chemmie Sokolic and JFED Security Officer Bill DiCola for providing security on Shabbos.
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Congregation Sons of Iarael
720 Cooper Landing Road
Cherry Hill, New Jersey 08002