This Shabbat, Avraham gets his second “lech lecha” (Go unto yourself). In the first, he is told to leave his “homeland, his birthplace, the house of his father.” In our portion, Vayera, God tells Avraham to go to the land of Moriah, and offer Isaac “there as a burnt offering on one of the heights that I will point out to you.” Isn’t one lech lecha enough? It seems that we, like Avraham, are all challenged over and over again. Life does not care if we’ve been knocked down recently. Challenges don’t come on a schedule and they don’t stay away even though we’ve already been through our fair share of stress.
If I was Avraham and heard another sentence start with “lech lecha” I would likely think to myself, “not again! In that last version I had to uproot my whole family and travel to an unknown place. What is it now?”
These moments are pivotal. Our lives literally pivot at “lech lecha”. They begin to go in a direction we did not expect. If you ask yourself if your life has gone they way you thought it would, I would venture to guess that the answer is “no” in some respects.
It seems that our journeys twist and turn and one test of life is not how to resist those moments, but rather to adapt to them as they come. Some aspects of life are beyond our control. Being able to follow the journey of Avraham, with its pitfalls and successes, gives me permission to accept the ways my life has pivoted and adjust so that I can grow into that new direction. I hope this Shabbat allows you to reflect on your own life and key events that defined your next steps. Perhaps looking back and telling our own story can allow us to accept whatever comes next with grace and flexibility.
Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Bernstein
SERVICES
Friday, November 15 - Thursday, November 21
Friday 6:00 PM Tot Shabbat 6:30 PM Kabbalat Shabbat
Saturday 9:00 AM Nosh and D'rash 9:45 AM Shabbat Service 10:30 AM Junior Congregation
Sunday 9:00 AM Minyan
Monday 6:30 AM Minyan
Thursday 8:00 AM Minyan
New Year's Eve Party at CBO
Are you the Bees Knees? The Cats Pajamas? Would you make a good mobster or his moll? Come find out as we turn the Merrick Campus into a rockin' Gin Joint for New Years Eve December 31, 8:30 PM Dinner and Dancing. More details to follow.
Click the links below to view some of our upcoming programs
Our Alix Rubinger Kosher Food Pantry needs Increased membership contributions as well as ideas for other sources of income. We are now serving 15 to 20 families per week. While a lot of food is contributed to our pantry from supermarkets and other synagogues, it is still necessary to purchase needed food items.
Checks can be made out to the Alix Rubinger Kosher Food Pantry or made out to CBO with an indication that the funds go to the pantry account.
Please remember that this is OUR Pantry.
Thank you.
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Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism