Good Erev Shabbat to all!
The administration, staff, and children of the Hebrew Academy of West Queens would like to express our deepest thanks and appreciation to Mark and Flora Bienstock, as well as Lee Bienstock and Solomon Bienstock for graciously hosting last night's inspiring 5-Towns Annual Reception. We also would like to express much Hakarat HaTov to HaRav Dovid Goldwasser, Shlita, for his uplifiting Divray Chizuk and unique warmth in which he received everyone at the reception. Harav Goldwasser spoke of the importance of caring for and reaching out to every Jewish Neshama and never giving up on any Jew. He said that just as a Sefer Torah becomes Pasul and loses its status when only one letter is missing, so too the Klal Yisrael is incomplete when even one Jew is missing. He pointed out that those who support the Yeshiva and help them save a Jewish Neshama, will share in the merit for every single Mitzvah that Jew and his descendants perform forever. What tremendous reward!
In honor of Rav Goldwasser , I would like to share with you a beautiful thought I saw in one of his Sefarim. As we are in the middle of Sefaras HaOmer, the concept of V'ahavta L'Rayacha Komoacha (to love our fellow Jew as ourselves) is paramount in our minds. In this week's Parsha we have the Pasuk regarding the Shmittah : "If you will say, what will we eat in the seventh year? ....I will ordain My blessing for you." Why is Hashem's blessing dependent on the people complaining, "what will we eat?" The answer Rav Goldwasser suggests is that part of the purpose of the Shmittah year is for the wealthy people to appreciate the plight of the less fortunate. When the land lies fallow during the Shmittah and even the well-to-do have to ask the question, "what will we eat?", they can now empathize with what the poor face on a daily basis. When that level of Ahavat Yisrael is accomplished, truly feeling our fellow Jew's pain and suffering as if it is our own, then we deserve Hashem's blessing!
Shabbat Shalom!
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