The Night and Day of Iberian Jewry
31/07/2015 12:31:35 PM
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 Dear [first_name]
These past weeks on the Iberian peninsula have given us great insight into both our glorious Jewish past and the suffering our people have endured. In the process we have met some truly heroic Jews and have been touched to the depths of our souls. G-d Willing, we will relate some of our thoughts and feelings with you at an appropriate time. However as we stand in the week between Tisha B'Av (the saddest Jewish day) and Tu B'Av (the happiest Jewish day) it’s appropriate to share the following:
This indeed is the Jew's responsibility everywhere and at all times - to light candles of Jewish warmth and joy in even the darkest of places. For as the Baal Shem Tov says: even a little light drives out much darkness. 
With best wishes for truly joyous Shabbos. South Head @ Fig Tree Theatre He hated humanity after the nightmare was over; all his speeches and all his writings came to nothing – he thought G-d Himself had assigned him a role to speak and write during the war as it might help. It did not. 
This legendary Polish Catholic activist went to remarkable lengths to focus global attention on what he saw and experienced first hand – and he was smuggled INTO the Warsaw Ghetto – twice! – to understand intimately and personally what half a million Jews were being subjected to .. the worst being the nazi troops “hunting down little children” He was equally shocked by the ignorance of world leaders. Jan Karski resolved to do whatever it took to stop the atrocities. He was the one who urged the bombing of the train tracks leading to the camps; he got himself to the United States Supreme Court to plead for help and was told by Felix Frankfurter “ .. to be honest I do not believe you”. He went where he could – Government leaders, Hollywood identities and finally in mid 1943 at the age of 29 he met President Franklin Delano Roosevelt – and spent eighty minutes conversing. FDR sat doodling while Jan poured out his heart .. when Jan spoke of the Jews of Poland perishing without outside help, FDR changed the subject .. asking about horses in Poland. Karski recalled with crystal clarity that the US President did not ask one single solitary question about the Jewish issue. When it was all over Jan Karski fell silent .. for thirty five years he did not speak about any of it. He taught at Georgetown University (with Bill Clinton among his students) .. he became a public figure and was honoured in his home country but far more meaningful came Honorary Citizenship of Israel in 1994 which Mr Karski said was the “proudest and most meaningful day of his life” – "this Pole, this Catholic, this American – had also become an Israeli”. Karski reflected in his twilight years that it “.. would haunt humanity till the end of time. It does haunt me and I want it to be so..” Jan Karski died in the year 2000 .. in May 2014 his Life became public property as the play Coming to See Aunt Sophie premiered in Germany. The Polish government sponsored a national tour, culminating in a performance on the grounds of the Warsaw Ghetto. The play has also been performed to great acclaim in the USA …. Now it’s Australia’s turn … Come With Us … Tuesday August 11th at the Figtree from 7.30pm Join us Tuesday August 11th at the Fig Tree Theatre at UNSW Youth Report
• We made cream filled chocolate cups and they were absolutely DELICIOUS!!!! • This Sunday is South Head Youth’s Annual City 2 Surf “BAKE OFF” where we make loads of goodies for South Head’s hospitality stand…. Sunday August 2nd 10:00am at South Head Synagogue…. See You There!!!
• MUMMY & ME IS BACK……. With our new Morah, Danit Harkham who’s so excited to meet all the little learners and their Mums……
See you all in Shule for Children Service
Shaya, Shmuli & Tzemach For more info on all programs: youth@southhead.org
Tzemach Yemini 0412 482 770 or Shaya Greene 0412 542 770 or Shmuli Rosenbaum 0432 876 770
 A Smile that Lit Up the WorldRabbi Eliezer Laine Every time I remind myself about that smile of the Rebbe I get the shivers. I bumped into some of the counselors many, many years later. And they said to me, “The smile .that we got from the Lubavitcher Rebbe stayed with us “.We live" full story  RECOMMENDED LIBRARY READING
GATEWAY TO HAPPINESS by Zelig Pliskin
Shabbat Shalom, COMMUNAL EVENTS
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We spent Tisha B'Av in the great and beautiful Synagogue of Toledo - or rather in what remains of its former glory. We sat on the floor and recited Kinot, especially those authored by the great Spanish Jewish poet and philosopher, Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi, and those lamentations mourning the expulsion and persecution of Iberian Jewry. Several times the guards asked us to get up but we resisted until we finished. After all what more appropriate time and place to mourn the expulsion than on Tisha B'Av, the very anniversary of the Expulsion, in a Synagogue which had been turned into a church. 
Then, wonder of wonders, five days later, on Tu B'Av, after seeing and feeling so much sadness, we celebrated a Hachnasat Sefer Torah in the new Chabad House of Cascais (near Lisbon). After only five years, the very young rabbi and rebbetzen have created a small but beautiful and vibrant community. It’s impossible to describe our feelings. The joy, the vibe, the energy were palpable. It was like seeing a giant light after having experienced so much darkness and sadness.
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666 Old South Head Rd Rose Bay, NSW 2029 (02) 9371 7300 |
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SHMINI
Rose Bay, NSW 2029
(02) 9371 7300