Friday 9 Shvat, 5781 / January 22, 2021 Bo Issue #112
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Help Support Gan Yiladim Preschool!
Donation $18 Each or 3 for $50
For more information or to order your trays,
Please contact Sarah at 616.375.9404
A huge thank you to all our volunteers who helped assemble these beautiful trays!!
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Is darkness a sign of light?
At the close of this week's Torah portion, Bo, the Torah relates how the oppression and suffering of the Israelites in Egypt reached its height. So intense was the suffering of the Hebrews that Moses felt constrained to exclaim to G-d: "Why have You dealt badly toward this people... and You have not delivered Your people." Even Moses, who was utterly devoted and faithful to G-d, could find no explanation for the extreme misery and darkness of the Exile.
Soon, however a most remarkable turn of events took place. Immediately after this darkest hour of the Egyptian exile, the process of the redemption was set in motion by G-d. When all hope seemed to have been lost, precisely then did the first rays of hope begin to shine for the Jews.
It is a well-known fact that the darkest part of the night is just before dawn. Our Sages compare exile to night. So too, when the night of the Egyptian exile seemed blackest, when the suffering of the Jews reached such a degree that even Moses complained "Why have You dealt badly...," it was then that the rays of deliverance began to shine.
The Talmud states that while the other nations of the earth calculate the yearly cycle according to the rotation of the sun, the Jewish People base their calendar on the rotation of the moon. For the Jews are likened to the moon, whose light wanes and diminishes, and finally seems to disappear. But it is precisely at that point that the new moon is born, and begins to grow steadily. Jewish history throughout the ages reflects the "lunar cycle." In the Egyptian exile, after reaching the lowest depths of oppression, when the long night of exile seemed at its very darkest, it was then that the deliverance and renewal of hope began. Such was the case in each subsequent exile.
There is much inspiration and encouragement to be derived from the above. There are times in one's life when it seems that the "wheel of fortune" has reached the lowest point of its cycle for him. It appears to him that his situation is beyond hope. Yet he should not lose faith and fall into despair, but should bear in mind that the darkest hour of exile - of our people as a whole, as well as, the "exile" of each individual - comes just before the start of the redemption.
Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
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10 Shvat * KIDDUSH & FARBRENGEN
Celebrating 70 Years of the Rebbe’s Rising Impact!
Please Join us this Shabbos for a Kiddush & Farbrengen to commemorate this auspicious day
@ Chabad House Jan. 23, at 1:00pm
*see below for more info about this day.
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CTEEN
Uplyft Event!
There’s a lot of people out there who could use a lift (or uplyft) right about now. Just some time to reconnect, refuel, and let off some steam with your friends. Which is why Team CTeen is launching Uplyft—a virtual 2 day international event bringing together every teen from every chapter across the world.
You can sign up for the whole Uplyft experience for just $18!
Use our membership discount code CMEMBER18 for this special discount!
Check it out at lyftup.org.
Free sweatshirt included until Jan 24th!
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Virtual Torah & Tea
A Torah Study for Women, with Nechamy.
Monday evening at 8:00pm
Meeting ID: 966 6623 3600
Password: jwc
To join by Phone call 929 436 2866 & enter Meeting ID and then this Password: 828451.
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Journey of the Soul:
A Fresh Look at Life, Death, and the Rest—in Peace
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A new 6 week course by JLI
with Rabbi Mordechai Haller
Who hasn’t wondered what happens when we die?
We know what happens to the body. But what happens to the soul at birth and again at death?
- Is there really a “better” place after this one?
- Do our loved ones continue to connect with us?
- Can I relate to an afterlife if I’m not spiritual?
At once practical and powerful, reflective and relatable, Journey of the Soul teaches a Jewish perspective on life that begins before birth and lasts well after a person’s passing.
It’s a journey we all take, and it’s yours to explore this winter.
SIX WEDNESDAY EVENINGS: 7:30-9:00PM
BEGINNING ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3RD, 2021
Fee: $99 (textbook included) | $180 Sponsor
Contact us for our Tuesday night virtual option.
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Challah & Chicken Soup for the Quarantined Soul
Enjoy some Delicious Challah and Chicken soup for Shabbos.
Please send us an email by Thursday afternoon to reserve your order!
Made with Love,
Packaged with gloves.
(Sponsorship available)
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~ JTEXT ~
Jewish Trivia Game
FOR JEWISH TEENS GRADES 6-12!
Be #7 & Win $20 to Amazon!!
Mazal Tov!!
Sam Ostrow
on winning $20 each to amazon!
Text "CTEENGR" to 616.207.1218 to join!
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Jewish Trivia Game for Adults in Western Michigan!!
Be #7 & Win Kosher Wine!
MAZEL TOV to
Barb Adelman &
Shoshana Stoll
on winning this week!!
Text "CHABADWM" to
616.207.1218 and start playing!!
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THIS WEEK IN the year...
At a gathering of Chassidim marking the first anniversary of the passing of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, the late Rebbe's son-in-law, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, delivered a Chassidic discourse (maamar) entitled Basi LeGani ("I Came into My Garden"), signifying his formal acceptance of the leadership of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement.
At that same gathering, the Rebbe clearly outlined his goals for our generation: “We are at the close of the period when the approaching footsteps of Mashiach can be heard. Our task is to complete the process of drawing down the Divine presence... so that it can rest in our lowly world.”
The Rebbe taught us to take responsibility for our lives and to direct our efforts to the ultimate good, the coming of the Redemption.
The lesson of the Rebbe’s life is not what he can do, but what each one of us can do.
Each one of us has a part to play in making the Redemption a reality. The anniversary of the Rebbe’s acceptance of leadership is a time to renew our commitment to this mission and take the initiative.
Today is Tu BiShevat ("the 15th of Shevat") which marks the beginning of a "New Year for Trees." This is the season in which the earliest-blooming trees in the Land of Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle.
Legally, the "New Year for Trees" relates to the various tithes that must be separated from produce grown in the Holy Land. We mark the day by eating fruit, particularly from the "Seven Kinds" that are singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates). On this day we remember that "Man is a tree of the field" (Deuteronomy 20:19) and reflect on the lessons we can derive from our botanical analogue.
Link:
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