Rabbi's Weekly Message
Siyum Hashas
Friday, January 03, 2020Watch Rabbi Shlomo Farhi's Message from the MetLife Stadium at this year's Siyum Hashas! ...
Read more...Perashat Mikess 5780
Friday, December 27, 2019Are you burning too bright? Watch Rabbi Shlomo Farhi's Shabbat Mikess Message ...
Read more...Perashat Vayesheb 5780
Friday, December 20, 2019Wait and See... Watch Rabbi Shlomo Farhi's Shabbat Vayesheb Message ...
Read more...Perashat Vayishlah 5780
Friday, December 13, 2019Watch Rabbi Shlomo Farhi's Shabbat Vayishlah Message...
Read more...Perashat Vayesse 5780
Friday, December 06, 2019It's something short, sweet and to the point. After all your TIME is so valuable! Watch Rabbi Shlomo Farhi's Shabbat Vayesse Message ...
Read more...Perashat Toledot 5780
Saturday, November 30, 2019The day after Thanksgiving has become a day synonymous with good deals, violent fights, and late-night shopping. Over roughly the last decade there have been 11 deaths and 108 injuries associated with frenzied shoppers and their dream purchases. But that is not why the day is called Black Friday. There seems to be a popular myth that the term was coined to indicate that these sales were the ones that propelled store owners and merchants from being “in the red” to being “in the black”. As romantic and hopeful as that notion is, it is untrue. Black Friday first appears in 1951 as a reference to workers' absences, too bloated from turkey, too inebriated from alcohol, or too insulted from the inevitable family fights to turn up to work the day after Thanksgiving. It surfaces again in the early sixties as a term describing the horrible post-holiday traffic. Which brings us to its shiny new usage, a term used to denote the massive markdowns designed to produce what is the single biggest day of shopping in the US calendar. There is something fascinating about sales that somehow drive us to purchase things we don’t need.
Read more...Perashat Haye Sarah 5780
Friday, November 22, 2019Our Hazan, cantor, is Shmuel Levy. He is simply a master of his craft. His beautiful voice and soulful singing inspire our community to pray with joy and longing. He takes us on a journey through the beautiful words of the tefillah, as we visit the emotions and feelings drawn from each stirring melody. We are beyond lucky to have him. But, like in every synagogue, there are those that would prefer if our Hazan was Sean Shannon. You see, Sean is the fastest speaker in the world, a Guinness World Record holder for having once spoken a blistering 655 words per minute on August 30, 1995. Just to put that into perspective...
Read more...Perashat Vayera 5780
Saturday, November 16, 2019I think Morrocans are better off than Syrians. Before you throw rocks at me, or fire me, hear me out. I try to live my life without regrets. Every once in a while I fail. I just returned from a magnificent wedding in Morocco. Walking the ancient streets, visiting a synagogue over 500 years old, and even attending a traditional henna in a palace which is over half a millennia old gives you an interesting perspective, one where I think Morrocans are better off than Syrians. It came to me in the middle of a celebration of a people who grew up in Casablanca and Marrakesh, who could return at will to their country, be accepted and welcomed to pray at their ancient synagogues and visit the tombs of their great-great-grandparents and the holy saddikim that guided them...
Read more...Perashat Noah 5780
Friday, November 01, 2019Noah was a righteous man, righteous beyond what any of us can imagine. He was devout, hardworking and dedicated. He tended to the needs of each and every one of the animals on the teba for the duration of the flood, feeding each one according to its schedule, staying awake around the clock to take care of them. But for all the animals he saved, he didn't manage to save ONE person other than the members of his own family. We are taught that Noah didn't pray for the people of his generation, and because of that failure, the waters of the flood are forever called by his name. "Ki mei Noah zot li... For [like] the waters of Noah shall this be to me..."(Yeshaya 54:9). How is it possible that such a refined person could sit by and do nothing as everything around him headed for destruction?...
Read more...Perashat Beresheet 5780
Friday, October 25, 2019Mum's the word. We are all familiar with the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and of how they were given everything and asked to refrain from only one thing. Somehow even that proved to be too much. There are so many explanations as to what happened and what went wrong. I'd like to focus and draw out one idea. Adam and Hava hear Hashem approaching, and they hide. G-d: Where are you? Adam: I heard your voice and was afraid as I was unclothed, so I hid. G-d: Who told you that you were unclothed? Did you eat from the forbidden tree? Adam: The woman you put with me gave me to eat, and I ate. G-d: What have you done? Hava: I was tempted by the snake and ate. Hashem tells each of the three protagonists in the story their punishment, and that's where the conversation ends. There is no response from Adam or Hava. Pay attention to when G-d tells Adam about his punishment...
Read more...Dec 21 2024
Kislev 20 5785