Around the Community
d e c e m b e r 1 9 , 2013
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The Reward for Those Who Try to Do Good
The Jewish Home n
GLITTER & GLUE ARTS AND CRAFTS WORKSHOP
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YAEL VOGEL - M.S. S.P. ED EXPERIENCED TEACHER AND ARTS & CRAFTS COORDINATOR 415B CENTRAL AVE. CEDARHURST, NY 11559 718-734-7442
When Hashem gave the Jewish nation the Torah, it was given on Mount Sinai. There were other mountains that also desired to have the honor and privilege, such as Mount Tavor and Mount Carmel. Although those two mountains did not merit the Torah being given on them, Hashem made a special miracle for those mountains and transported them to the land of Israel. They deserved this reward because they had wanted to enable the Torah to be given and Israel is a place where Torah comes out of, as it says in Yishayah, “Ki mitziyon tatzei Torah” from Tziyon, Torah will emerge (R’ Aharon Leib Steinman, shlita). The mountains had good intentions and although nothing of their intentions came to fruition, Hashem still found it justified to reward them. When we see how Hashem acts with inanimate objects, we can get an idea of how much more so it must be with living, breathing humans. When a person has a good intention, if he is prevented from carrying it out through no fault of his own, he can look forward to being rewarded for his positive intentions. Often, when dealing with shalom
bayis, a spouse can act out of the best of intentions and hit a brick wall. The other spouse can completely ignore the gesture or even take it the wrong way. A person can keep on trying and feel like he is not making any inroads. It is important to realize though, that shalom bayis is also a mitzvah. Hashem wants there to be peace between a husband and a wife, and He rewards a spouse for trying to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony. So when the intentions are good, a person can feel secure in the knowledge that the good deeds are not going unnoticed, even if they are not making the kind of impact that was expected. With Hashem’s help, not only will the intention’s we have be good, but the outcome should be satisfactory and positive as well. Five Towns Marriage Initiative provides educational programs, workshops and referrals to top marriage therapists. FTMI will help offset counseling costs when necessary and also runs an anonymous shalom bayis hotline for the entire community Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 10:00-11:00 p.m. For the hotline or more information, call 516-430-5280 or email dsgarry@msn.com.
Kulanu Presents Sensitivity Training at HALB Long Beach On Friday, December 13, over 120 HALB junior high girls participated in a sensitivity training presented by Jonathan Cooper, LCSW, Kulanu’s Director of Inclusion and Community Services. Cooper emphasized the theme, “Knowing the story behind the story.” There was complete silence during the panel presentation as three students from Kulanu Academy, Jonah Goldstein, Shaya Martin and Mashi Nockenofsky,
and two teen shadows from Kulanu’s Sunday Program, Nicole Odinsky and Shira Fagan, shared their individual stories. The Kulanu Academy panelists discussed their challenges and their desire not to be judged by their peers and to be understood by their community. This program was funded in part by a generous grant from the UJA Federation of New York.
EPA Certified
Yisroel Chervony