There is no need for me to describe what happened in Uvalde this week nor how I feel about it, you already know.

Instead, I'd like to offer some of what I am thinking about in hope that it may be helpful to others.

Judaism teaches that we must personally grow from everything we see or hear. How can I possibly become a better person after hearing 21 precious souls were gunned down in a school?

Part of my instinctive reaction upon hearing about a mass shooting is to profile the perpetrator as someone I have no affiliation with whatsoever. I try to console myself by declaring that such an evildoer was mentally ill and barely human. How can it be explained any other way?

Then I catch myself and remember the perpetrator was human and insanity is a weak excuse for evil. So what went wrong? How is it possible for someone to do such horrible things?

Jewish tradition maintains that every person is born with two competing inner forces. One is the instinctive, survival force that motivates one to care for themself and succeed in life. The other force drives one to find meaning and purpose; to achieve a purpose greater than themselves and make a positive impact on society.

These two forces fill me and my psyche. Although one is selfish and the other selfless, both are constantly clashing within me. Every moral dilemma I face is the manifestation of these two inner forces pulling in two opposite directions. I alone must choose which inclination to follow.

I cannot be blamed for my inner struggles, but I am certainly responsible for my choices. Most of the time the problem is not discerning right from wrong. More often than not the right choices are the harder ones and I need to choose selflessness over selfishness; divine awareness over self-absorption.

In Genesis we learn how humanity started from one single person. The Talmud explains that G-d created humanity from a single human to illustrate the preciousness of one single life and how important every individual’s choices are.

The consequences of these choices are usually not earth-shattering, but the possibility for these inner struggles to morph into serious crises with far-reaching consequences is very real. The more I train myself to make the right choices in the small, routine types of struggles, the more prepared I am to make the right choices when serious struggles hit hard.

A young man made a horribly selfish and evil choice this week.

In response I ask myself:

Am I making good choices in my personal struggles?

Am I inspiring others to choose right over wrong and good over evil?

Am I effectively educating my children to identify these struggles and to appreciate how relevant their choices are to G-d and society?

I mourn with Uvalde and hope that the relevant agencies do their jobs in finding better ways to stop terrible tragedies in the first place.

And I do what I can to ensure more people make the right choices more often and hopefully stop Uvalde from happening again.

Rabbi Mendy

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

  Upcoming: 

Shabbat: 

Shabbat morning services 10:30 am

Torah discussion and reading 11:00 am

Followed by Kiddush and Cholent

This Tuesday night: 5/31: New Moon Circle + Jewish Women's Circle Collab

6/5: Shavuot: 10 Commandments & Dairy Brunch Buffet

9/18 Mega Challah Bake



📖 Read:

• Why Your 'Digital Shabbat' Will Fail

'Secular Shabbats' may be a trendy self-help tool, but they won't curb your screen use or provide a quick fix for your stress.

• It was just last year that Chabad Rabbi Shlomo Noginski was stabbed eight times by a gun-wielding terrorist, just outside the Boston-area day school where Noginski works. Last week, Patriots owner Robert Kraft cut the ribbon on the new Rabbinical School that Rabbi Noginski founded as a response to the evil attack.

An opening cohort of eight rabbinical students will be educated in the new, purpose-built center - one student for each time the attacker tried to end Noginski’s life.

• Over at Tablet, Liel Lebovitz reviews the box-office hit “Everything Everywhere All at Once," which he calls, “the most insightful bit of commentary in any medium about our spiritual plight at this moment in time.”

Jewish Birthday Initiative:

We are starting up a Jewish Birthday Initiative to inspire the community to celebrate their Jewish birthday in addition to their secular birthdays. 

If you would like, we can send you a notification regarding your Jewish birthday with the traditions and ideas on how to celebrate. Please fill out your information in this form and we will take it from there. (All information remains confidential and secure within our database.)

Happy (early) Birthday!

Here is the link again:

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe2JI8275DFejy-5-I3_HCx2p_PXCiOKicpcUhauiSEZsNpKg/viewform

 Watch:

On multiple occasions in his televised addresses, the Rebbe urgently called for a daily “Moment of Silence” in U.S. public schools, where most American children receive their education.

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  Jewish saying of the week:

If I am I because I am I, and you are you because you are you, then I am I and you are you. But if I am I because you are you and you are you because I am I, then I am not I and you are not you!

- Rabbi Mendel of Kotzk

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