soulwise FALL 2013 / HIGH H0LIDAYS 5774 A LITTLE NOSH FOR THE SOUL VOLUME 6 - ISSUE 1 Chabad Lubavitch of Yourtown Dedicated to the Love and Inspiration of Soulwise the Lubavitcher Rebbe Dear Friend, You are the next link in the chain. Passover is the most ancient of all rituals in the Western world. It has been passed down in an unbroken chain of tradition for over 3300 years, that’s over 100 generations! That means that every one of your ancestors, without exception, sat at a Seder and shared the meaning, the mystery and magic of Passover. Engage all your senses in this dynamic and moving experience. The tastes, the aromas, the textures, the sounds and the sights of Jewish continuity in action all combine to achieve the meaningful events of the Seder. Take the time this year to fully engage yourself and your family in Jewish life. Feel the passion of the exodus, taste the beauty of freedom, hear the message of personal growth all brought to life at the Seder. Join us or try it at home, either way, make this the most meaningful Pesach ever. May G-d bless you and your family with a Passover filled to overflowing good health and happiness! Sincerely, Rabbi Shliach Director, Chabad Jewish Center SOULWISE MAGAZINE IS PUBLISHED BY: Don’t miss the Rabbi’s Thursday Torah Class 7:00 pm Chabad Lubavitch of Your Town This is Jewish Thought 101. For thousands of years, the Torah has been the Rabbi Mendel Shliach, Director Jewish national treasure, and now is your chance to claim your inheritance. 239 South Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211 718-718-7180 From Moses to David to You! www.CHabadofnow.com Join the class by calling 714-555-5523 or logging onto www.CHabadofnow.com. Fall 2013, Volume 6, Issue 1 Printed 4 times yearly - Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall. Don’t miss the Rabbi’s Thursday Torah Class 7:00 pm EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Rabbi Shmuel Marcus MANAGING EDITOR: Shira Gold This is Jewish Thought 101. For thousands of years, the Torah has been the EDITOR: Miriam Lieberman Jewish national treasure, and now is your chance to claim your inheritance. COVER ART: Marc Lumer From Moses to David to You! DISTRIBUTION: Rabbi Avraham Green CREAATTIVE DIRECTOR: Nechama Marcus Join the class by calling 714-555-5523 or logging onto www.CHabadofnow.com. DESIGN: Zalmy Berkowitz, Boaz Gabbai, Mushka Raskin PHOTOGRAPHYY:: Zalmmyy Berkowitz, wwww.Zalmyb.com COPY EDITOR: Ita Marcus SPECIAL THANKS: Shalom Laine and wwww..tphny.com, Bill Pinkerson, Boruch Cohen, Kehot.com, Chabad.org Don’t miss the Rabbi’s Thursday Torah Class 7:00 pm WEBSITE: www.SoulWiseMagazine.com This is Jewish Thought 101. For thousands of years, the Torah has been the ©2012 by Soulwise Magazine (Over 250,000 copies printed internationally) All rights Jewish national treasure, and now is your chance to claim your inheritance. reserved, including the right to reproduce any portion of This magazine in any ffoorm, without prior written permissionffrom the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages. From Moses to David to You! Printed in the USA Join the class by calling 714-555-5523 or logging onto www.CHabadofnow.com. High Holidays 5774 000 Dedicated to The following is the Love and Inspiration of not a glamorous the Lubavitcher creation of an Rebbe award-winning ad You’re agency or a super- cool app from a ZALMY BERKOWITZ PHOTOGRAPHY high-tech firm, WWW.ZALMYB.COM but it’s possibly the ReadingBy Justin Jackson most powerful thing you’ll read all year. This here’s not much here. She didn’t really care about HTML, she cared he Code of Jewish Law about sharing her stories. encourages the custom of T Just words. T a pre-High Holiday visit You are still reading. to the resting place of a “Tzadik” And you’re reading them. (righteous person). The Rebbe’s Think about all the things you could commu- resting place is in New York, and We’ve become obsessed with fancy designs, nicate with a simple page like this. If you’re a today, thousands of people send pre- responsive layouts, and scripts that do magi- businessperson, you could sell something. If High Holiday letters and requests to cal things. you’re a teacher, you could teach something. be placed at the Rebbe’s “Ohel” (rest- If you’re an artist, you could show something ing place) for blessing and guidance. But the most powerful tool is still words. you’ve made. And if your words are good, For more than fifty years, the Rebbe people will read them. received hundreds of letters every day I wrote these words, and you’re reading at his office in “770” Eastern Parkway. them: that’s magical. If you’re a web designer, or a client who People of every background, occupa- is working with one, I’d like to challenge tion and level of observance would I’m in a little city in British Columbia; you’re you to think about words first. Instead of turn to the Rebbe with their spiritual probably somewhere else. I wrote this early in starting with a style guide or a Photoshop and material concerns and requests the morning, you’re reading it at a different mockup, start with words on a page. for blessing. These letters are written time. I wrote this on my laptop; you could in any language, but the tradition is be reading this on your phone, a tablet or a What do you have to say? If you don’t know, to mention your name and mother’s desktop. there’s not much use in adding all that other name (e.g. Isaac the son of Sarah). It stuff. Just start with one page, with a single is also preferable to use one’s Hebrew You and I have been able to connect because I focus. Write it and publish it, and then iter- name. Many non-Jews send emails to wrote this and you’re reading it. That’s the ate on that. Every time you’re about to add the Rebbe’s Ohel but it is customary power of words. Despite our different lo- something, ask yourself: does this help me that Gentiles use their father’s name EDITOr-IN-CHIEF: Rabbi Shmuel Marcus cations, devices, and time-zones we can communicate better? Will that additional when writing letters. There is no MANAGING EDITOR: Shira Gold connect here, on a simple page. styling, image, or hyperlink give my audience specific heading required and many EDITOR: Miriam Lieberman more understanding? If the answer’s “no,” people simply begin with “Dear COVER ART: Marc Lumer I wrote this in a text editor. It’s 5KB. I don’t add it. Rebbe.” DISTRIBUTION: Rabbi Avraham Green didn’t need a Content Management System, CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Nechama Marcus a graphic designer, or a software developer. At its heart, web design should be about Chabad staff members are constantly DeSIGN: Zalmy Berkowitz, Boaz Gabbai, Mushka Raskin There’s not much code on this page at all, just words. Words don’t come after the design is near the Rebbe’s resting place to PHOTOGRAPHY: Zalmy Berkowitz, www.Zalmyb.com simple markup for paragraphs, hierarchy, and done. Words are the beginning, the core, the assist those who come to pray. These COPY EDITOR: Ita Marcus emphasis. focus. staff members created a dedicated SPECIAL THANKS: Shalom Laine and www.tphny.com, Bill email address to allow people to have Pinkerson, Boruch Cohen, Kehot.com, Chabad.org I remember teaching my daughter to code So this year, start with words. If you could their letter automatically printed WEBSITE: www.SoulWiseMagazine.com HTML when she was 8. The first thing she write an email to G-d, what would you say? and hand-carried and placed at the ©2012 by Soulwise Magazine (Over 250,000 copies printed internationally) All rights wrote was a story about a squirrel. She wasn’t Ohel. The email address is ohel@ reserved, including the right to reproduce any portion of This magazine in any form, “writing HTML”; she was sharing some- Justin Jackson is not a basketball player, or a ohelchabad.org. For more informa- without prior written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who wishes to quote brief passages. thing with the world. She couldn’t believe baseball player. He’s a Product Manager at a tion on this custom please visit www. that she could write a story on our home com- great Software Company. He lives in Canada ohel.com. Printed in the USA puter, and then publish it for the world to see. with his wife and 4 kids. High Holidays 5774 Winter 2013 5. Then, in your own words, ask Him for everything you need in life. Be completely open and vulnerable. Express your feelings about the most important matters in your Prayer life. Prayer-speaking from your heart to G-d-is not about saying big things. It is about saying small things in big ways. It is not Pilates about saying many words; it’s about saying Here are a few exercises that can help you them with heartfelt sincerity. Don’t feel begin: that you have to begin big. Better to begin small, in digestible pieces. Slowly acclimate 1. Free up real time. Find a quiet space yourself to the experience. away from any distracting sights or sounds. Get everything else out of your mind and Small, slow steps will lead you through the release yourself, by focusing inward.