A Moment with Rabbi Shmuel

“Say Hal­leluya. Ok, but why?” — From the Feb­ru­ary /​ March edi­tion of the Har El Star

My dear HarElians,

The sec­u­lar new year has begun and I hope you’re feel­ing as good as I am. First of all, I’ve fin­ished with the lit­tle virus I had and when one feels good after not feel­ing so good, that good feel­ing of health return­ing is palpable.

Another rea­son? Well , you might recall the “Grat­i­tude prac­tice” I rec­om­mended that you try dur­ing Hanukkah?  Per­haps you’ve con­tin­ued it even after the holy days of Lights ended. Per­haps you found spend­ing a few moments each day reflect­ing on what is good in your life was so reward­ing that you’ve kept it going as a daily spir­i­tual prac­tice. Good job! Well done!

Or per­haps you’re tuned into your Khayyut (חיות) your “life source.”  It’s that life-​​pulse that we’re some­times aware of and if we tune into it, we can sense the very source of the divine in our lives, the source of holy energy that rep­re­sents the fact that we are a liv­ing being, and not a stone. Though maybe from the inside of a stone, there is a life source, too? Who knows?!

Or maybe your son has just started col­lege, your nearly 87 year old Mom is com­ing to visit, you’re going to cel­e­brate with your Reb­bet­syn the 32^nd anniver­sary of meet­ing, and you’re going to visit your in-​​laws who are in their late 80’s –all kin­na­hora.  TMI?

Or maybe you’re just happy that it’s 2012 is here and 2011 is over. Maybe 2011 came with too many hard times or chal­leng­ing moments and you’re ready to turn to a new page, chap­ter, or book in your life. That’s rea­son enough to be say­ing “hal­leluya,” which by the by means “y’all praise – y’hallelu, Ya,  God (Ya= one of God’s many names).

Or maybe you’re feel­ing grand because you are going on a vaca­tion or com­ing back from a vaca­tion. Maybe you went or are going to a warm, sunny place, or cruise or beach.  Or you’ve taken or will take a ski­ing hol­i­day. Or maybe you’re plan­ning some­thing spe­cial for the Spring or Summer.

Or maybe you met a new beloved one. Or there’s an addi­tion to your fam­ily. Or you’re start­ing to feel bet­ter after being the dark­ness of griev­ing or depres­sion. Or you found a job. Or…

Or maybe you’re just happy to be a mem­ber of Har El. Now there’s yet another rea­son to be smil­ing. If you look at the var­ied events com­ing up:  the many classes we offer all week long to every­one and cer­tainly for our Seniors, or the Shab­bat ser­vices, or the Shab­bos din­ners: pot luck or catered at Har El, or with your Con­ver­sion class or a NSHS class at the Birn­hams at Sara’s and my home, or as part of our Shul-​​wide pro­gram for mem­bers to meet mem­bers over Shab­bat din­ners. Or Men’s Club pro­grams or Sis­ter­hood pro­grams or Sis­ter­hood Shab­bat. Or New Member’s Shab­bat or  Shab­bat Shira or the Social Fundraiser of a South African Night or the NSHS’s Night of the Casino and so much more being planned for the Spring.

Our Tikkun Olam com­mit­tee will be get­ting word out to you soon about envi­ron­men­tal & and social action/​poverty work for us to do to heal part of the world.

הללויה

So say Hal­leluya. There are so many rea­sons to let it ring from our mouths.

And as I always say, if you’re not see­ing the pro­gram­ming that YOU want or need, let Gur­val or me know what you’re think­ing about. Please.

So I’ve pre­sented loads of rea­sons why one might be tempted to sing out HALLELUYA. הללויה

If you’ve got a rea­son to sing out (and who doesn’t?), then please let me know why you are. And if you find your­self unable to or have no rea­son to do so, please let me know. I’d like to visit with you.

Bless­ings for a won­der­ful 2012, which is a con­tin­u­a­tion of 5772.

B’virkat shalom, With bless­ings of peace,

Rabbi Shmuel