Sweetest Friends,

Much is happening at our Shul that should be a source of pride to all of us.  Our recent “Day of Learning” co-hosted with the JCC, focused on the teachings of the Ari HaKodesh and was a smashing success in terms of the intensity of the learning and the number of people participating.  Our young singles Shabbat dinner was so successful and so in demand that we plan to regularly host these types of events.  Finally, our Shul continues to be a magnet for people throughout the world who wish to experience a Carlebach Shabbos.  We recently had guests from Gibraltar, Venezuela, Australia, Hungary, Austria, and Columbia, many of which expressed their desire to have us organize a Carlebach Shabbaton for their communities.
Switching gears, I recently came across a passage from the Talmud (Nedarim 41b) which discussed the Torah obligation to heal the sick.  According to the Rambam (himself a great physician), the obligation to heal is derived from the Biblical mitzvah to return a lost object to its rightful owners.  The Rambam ruled that if we are obligated to return a lost object, how much more so are we obligated to return a person’s health to them.  Thus the definition of a lost object in the Torah’s lexicon is not only a tangible item but also an intangible item, be it a person’s physical or spiritual health.  When we demonstrate the beauty of Shabbat to the uninitiated, we are returning to them the precious gift of Shabbat that was given to the Jewish people but lost to many of us.

Each Shabbat we have the opportunity to return to others, and even to ourselves, many of the lost precious items that are found in our Tradition.  Venture into the Carlebach Shul and let your soul explore our special lost and found.

GOOD SHABBOS,
Brother Shy