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A little confession from the rabbi...

 chess.jpgIn the hotly contested NY elections, would you consider voting for Wiener or Spitzer? Are their indiscretions irreparable?!

Great Rabbis have played always played chess. Legend has it that King Solomon invented the game! But one rabbi, Rabbi Yechiel of Gostinin (1816 - 1888), refused to even learn how to play. When he discovered the law of 'touch move', that once a move is made it can never be reversed, he flatly rejected anything to do with the game. 'In life', he said, 'nothing is irreversible'!

I too, recently switched from an Iphone to an Android. The straw that broke the camels back? Apple gives you just one button- it only allows you to move forward. But my Android phone has a back button. 

As we prepare for the Rosh Hashana next week, you'll be hearing a lot aboutteshuvarepentance. But here's a little secret you won't often hear from a rabbi: I'm not quite sure what that word repentance actually means. 

I do know, that repentance is really a mistranslation from the hebrew teshuva: which really means return

 You see, our relationship with G-d is not something we need to create, it's something we need to just revert back to. Our souls are a piece of G-d; our factory default is connected to G-d. It's only our complex lives and sophisticated guise that creates a veil over that intrinsic connection with G-d.

Rosh Hashana is the time to reset. Time to return to roots and our natural relationship with G-d.

This year, as you sit in Shul on Yontif, remember that the place you'll find G-d is exactly where you lost Him! 

Do we really need to pray so much on the High Holidays?!

Prayer.jpgOther cultures celebrate the New Year with good food and celebration, and we pray for hours?! What's going on here?

It's because of the dazzling Kabbalistic power of Speech.

On Rosh Hashana, G-d created the world through Speech. Just like Siri on your iphone, it was voice activated. 

Our words too, bear this magical power of being able to form and create.What you say is what will happen. Whether you say you can or you say youcan't, you're right! Kaballah says it simply: Words create!

Today, lovers separate the minute the 'feelings of love' dissipate. If you're having a hard time feeling love towards someone you want to love, say loving words. Uttering  the words "I love you' actually causes those feelings to follow suit. Because words create.

High Holiday Prayers aren't about asking G-d for 'stuff'. G-d doesn't want us to beg. Look closely at the words and you will find a rich tapestry of deep truths: 

Themes of joy, redemption, forgiveness and renewal. Themes so powerful, so life changing , they need to be repeated throughout the High Holidays, so that they become second nature and truly liberate us from the failings of our past and allow us to soar, reinvented, into the New Year! 

 Actually, Jews pray daily for the same reason. Each day brings new challenges and struggles that the verbal affirmations of prayer negate and overcome with their power to change reality. 

The Hagaddah (which actually means 'storytelling') is based on the verbalized gratitude of the Jews in this week's Torah portion upon presenting their first fruits as gifts to G-d. Their feelings of gratitude to G-d were not enough. They were commanded to verbalize their thanks.

Grateful words, lead to happier people. Four letter curse words, not good.

So when you're in Shul, don't just read the words, actually say them. 
When you're out of Shul, mind your words carefully, because what you say has real power! 

Wishing you a Shabbat of tremendous positive energy,

Rabbi Dovid and Chana Vigler

Do you snoop on your spouse's text messages?

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Did you know that it's a Mitzvah to get divorced?!

I'm not kidding! Unlike Catholics, Jews are commanded to get divorced! But don't get excited, it's not that you have to get divorced, it's just that if you do, you mustget a Get!

Amazingly, the Torah devotes a whole section this week to the laws of divorce, but nowhere in the Torah do we find the laws of Marriage! In fact, the Laws of Jewish Marriage are derived from the verses that deal with divorce!

How does this make any sense? Why would marriage be born of divorce? You couldn't possibly get divorced if you weren't married!?

Beyond what meets the eye, lies a profound message in healthy human relationships: In order to marry you do indeed need to have a symbolic divorce first.

You see- most people think that marriage is about two people sharing everything! They live together, share a bank account, credit scores and even family names. My wife and I once saw a house with a massive master bedroom. In the center of the bedroom was a bathroom, with no walls! They were so in love, they claimed, that they needed no privacy from ach other!

But the Torah subtly hints to us that even within the harmony of marriage there must be clear cut fences- there must be a sense of privacy and modesty.

Like the waves of the ocean reach forwards and then withdraws;  Like the beating of the heart that is in and out; Like the economy that grows and recedes; Like the sun rises and sets, anything that is alive must be in perpetual motion of progression and retraction.

Relationships too need times of embrace and times of retreat. Like an exquisite symphony of alto and base, human relationships thrive when given space to retreat after each union.

So if you love someone then give them some space. Show them you love and trust them even when they're not totally in your embrace. 

As for reading text messages, whilst American Law has conflicting ruling son its permissibility in divorce wiretapping cases, Torah Law expressly forbids violating the privacy of your loved one.

It might be tough to relate to, but take a moment and meditate on this, it might just bring your relationship to new higher heights you never knew existed!

Do you agree with this?

May this New Year be different! May it allow you to fulfill your deepest potential and become the person you always have wanted to be!

If you're alive, it means you're here for a reason and G-d needs you!

Pledge to do your best and He will shower you with blessings. Do you agree? Listen here

Celebrate High Holidays with Chabad and be inspired to live higher! www.JewishGardens.com/Inspire

Shana Tova!

A question the Rabbi couldn't answer!

Someone called me recently gloating about finally having 'stumped the rabbi'. He had emailed me a question that I hadn't answered and he was sure it was because I had nothing to say. 

Not intending to burst his bubble, but defending my reputation, 20130809_120928.jpgI told the man that I had not received his email. A brief search revealed that he had made a small spelling mistake in the address and the email had never arrived in my inbox. 

Amazing! Letters aren't just tools for communication. They're so much more: they are portals into cyberspace, windows to another world!

Indeed, the act of Creation, 5773 years,11 months and 3 days ago was initiated through Hebrew Letters. The Creator simply uttered the name of each creation and it was spontanteously formed.

Just like the web address followed by pushing 'Enter' brings you to the website, G-d's utterance itself formed the actual creation.

This is deep stuff. It's pure Kaballah.

When someone is gravely ill, we add then another hebrew name. Just like adding a letter to www.FFaceBook.com will bring you to another website, so too will adding a name bring a different Divine energy and G-dly vitality to the sick person.

Hebrew letters are the blue prints of the universe and the windows, the portals, to G-d.

We need to be so careful with every word that leaves our mouth!

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This is why we are so excited to unveil our unique and original Stained Glass Windows Project in our new Shul.

There are 22 windows in our new Shul, corresponding to the 22 letters in the Hebrew Alphabet. Custom designed by world renowned artist Phillip Ratner of the Ratner Museum in Bethesda MD, each window in our new Shul will feature a different letter in Stunning Stained Glass. 

Each Stained Glass Window is now available for dedication.

Think of someone meaningful and precious to you: Your mother? Zeidy? A Child? Perhaps your family name or your birthplace. Consider Dedicating a window that bears your family's letter or the letter that represents your loved one and let the magnificent Stained Glass window serve as a portal to draw blessings and power direct to you your loved ones!

Please contact me to discuss a Stained Glass Window Dedication that would be most suitable to your loved ones. Hurry, because there is only one of each letter in the entire Shul Window Collection! Email [email protected] or call me at 561-215-0404.

If you've already made a donation to our Building Project, we are most grateful. If you haven't yet, we urge you to please do so now as we need to continue paying the construction bills in order to be able to have the Shul ready for the end of the year. We can't do it without you!

 Please call Mitch at
561-209-1101 or [email protected] or Michael at [email protected]  to discuss how you can help build this Shul!

Wishing you a Shabbat of open conduits to blessings,

Rabbi Dovid and Chana Vigler 
www.JewishGardens.com/BuildingTheDream 

Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens
4106 PGA Blvd. PBG FL 33410

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How to make Friends

 

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Dear Friends,

Somehow it's a lot easier to destroy than it is to build!

It took just a few hours for 22 windows and doors of our new Shul to be cut out of the solid brick walls, but it's now taking two weeks to painstakingly form the windows and openings exactly according to the plans and the code.

Life is a lot like that too.

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Think about how long it takes to make a friend and how long it takes to lose one.

A relationship is built on years of trust- through blood, sweat and tears.  that same friendship can be destroyed with merely a harsh word, a scathing insult or a deceitful back stab. Just like a wrecking ball, breaking a relationship is  a no brainer. It's building one that takes skill and wisdom.

Under the wedding chupah, we remind the bride and groom that they're relationship is a Garden.

Here's why: To make a Garden beautiful, takes tender love and care, and lots of visits to Home Depot. But to destroy a garden, you need to do nothing. Just let it grow world. Don't water or weed it, just neglect it and in no time, you'll have a jungle beyond belief!

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Remember that your relationships are all 'gardens' that take great effort to create and absolutely no effort to destroy.

So if you want to make friends, work really hard at being a mentsch. If you want no friends, just be yourself. 

Please help us grow our Gardens here in Palm Beach Gardens by being a part of the construction of our new Shul. 

We're building this new Shul at breakneck speed but we really need your help to be able to keep up the pace and continue to pay the contractors!! Please help us complete this beautiful and meaningful project! 

Dedicate a Leaf on the Tree of Life: $1200 
Dedicate a Brick: $5000 
Dedication brochure:
 Click here

 For more information call Rabbi Vigler at 561-624-2223 or[email protected]
or our building committee Chairmen: 
Mitch Zachary: 
561-209-1101 - [email protected]
or Michael Paolercio
914-760-5219- [email protected]

Wishing you a Shabbat of growth!

Rabbi Dovid and Chana Vigler

www.JewishGardens.com/BuildingTheDream 
Chabad of Palm Beach Gardens 
4106 PGA Blvd.  
Palm Beach Gardens Fl 33410

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