Thank you!

Deep appreciation to everyone who participated in the year-end matching campaign. Together, and thanks to the very generous matchers, we raised 100k for YJP.

The young Austin community is ALIVE and HIGH ENERGY!

Enjoy the vacation and we will see you at First Fridays of Jan.

-Rabbi Mendy & Mussy

Thought for the week:

Is there truly light in our darkest moments?

Today marks the fast of the tenth of Tevet, a day that commemorates the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem. So dark is this day - one that ushered in a string of calamities that would befall the Jewish people - that some rabbinic opinions state that were the fast to fall on Shabbat, we would need to observe it even then.

Surely, there is no light inside that darkness?

If we look into the ultimate cause of the fast though, we can find buried within its light:

The root cause of our exile, as a Jewish people, is baseless hatred. It's a dissociation from our essential selves, and thus from each other - resulting in our dissociation from our homes and into the world at large.

Look then at the punishment the Babylonians wrought - the siege of Jerusalem. During a siege, the outside world is cut off, the need to work together with those in the city, to pool resources and find a way to cooperate is at an all time high… in essence, a siege contains the opportunity, albeit an incredibly challenging one, to increase in our love for our fellow.

Buried within the siege of Nebuchadnezzar was the potential for us to transcend what would befall us…

And therein is the light we must look for.

- Rabbi Mordechai Lightstone, based on the teachings of the Rebbe

Wishing you an uplifting Shabbat,

Rabbi Mendy & Mussy

p.s. As always, we would love to chat with you over coffee or drinks, about Judaism, or just life - reply to this email.

Of Interest

The First Published Book by a Jewish Woman

A beautiful Niggun from Nikolayev Ukraine - listen three times to layer it in

Join Chai Society! Make Some High ENERGY!

yjpaustin.org/chai

Did you know? YJP is not funded by any umbrella organization, not locally and not nationally (no funding from Chabad HQ). This gives YOU a great opportunity. Every donation has an outsized impact - creating programs and events in this community and stays right here in this community.

  Upcoming Events: 

Make your life easy! Subscribe to the YJP Public Google Calendar and never miss an event.

Weekly Shabbat Services:



• Shabbat morning services 10:20 am
• Torah discussion and reading 11:00 am (sharp)
• Followed by Kiddush and Cholent

12/27 - CYP Academy Meditation from Sinai - each discussion is stand alone you can start this week.

01/05 - Frist Friday January - the Brisket One

01/09 - New Moon Circle: Human & Holy with Tonia Chazanow

🌱 Chai Society: 

Special thanks to the Chai Society members who donate monthly to support this beautiful community

Yankee Andrusierׁ • Ronit Baum • Carolina Bueno • Duncan Bryer • Marc Cooper • Nate Firebaugh • Aviva Frank • Alex & Nellie Freiman • Paulina Flasch • Matt Ford • Gabe Gang • Pavel Gitnik • Sarah Guccione • Max Goldberg • Toba Hellerstein • Ari & Sandra Hoffman • Noah Kagan • Ben Marchiony • Michael Nadel • Yoni Oettinger • Dafnee Orduz • Ben Rosen • Itamar Shapira • Kylie Schwartz • Noah Sinai • Daniel Speiss • Cindy & Mark Sichel • Dustin Tropp • Chaim & Amanda Pollak • Avremi Zippel • David Zakariaie • Idan Zur

Join the monthly donors here - and support the community you love!

Together, we’re High Energy!

Shabbat Vayigash

Light your candles at 5:18 pm

in Austin, TX

Shabbat Shalom, friend!

Follow us on social media: Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

Support Chabad YJP's mission to build community and curate epic experiences for young Jews in Austin!

Share this email, invite friends, join a committee, or donate at yjpaustin.org/donate