Pnina Souid 

Every week Mitzvah Man volunteers head out on erev Shabbat to visit the homebound, many of whom are Holocaust survivors. Volunteers are told where to pick up flowers nearby to bring with them in honor of Shabbat. 

The Mitzvah Man received the following text from one of these volunteers. 

I must tell you this story that happened to me. Every week the Mitzvah Man texts the volunteers asking whether anyone is interested in visiting a homebound senior on erev Shabbat, to visit them with flowers. I answered the text and was given the name and address of the person to visit and the address of the place to pick up the flowers. 

I was surprised to see that the name was that of my Aunt Celia, whom I had not seen in seven years! Of course, I was so excited to see her and saw the Hand of Hashem, acting through the Mitzvah Man organization. 

However, there was more in store for me than I could have dreamed! 

I went that erev Shabbat, flowers in hand, to my aunt’s house. Was she ever surprised to see me! Sitting in the living room was another Mitzvah Man volunteer, a young man named Abe, who also came to visit my Aunt Celia. Abe and I started a conversation and discovered that we had much in common. 

Much to my Aunt Celia’s pleasure, I continued to visit her weekly. Abe and I also started to visit other homebound seniors together. 

We started dating. It has been two years since our first meeting at my Aunt Celia’s house and our wedding date is coming up very soon. 

The Mitzvah Man organization under Hashem’s Guidance orchestrated it all! 

The hesed I did as a Mitzvah Man volunteer led to my reunion with Aunt Celia and to meeting my future husband as well! 

Thank you, Mitzvah Man, for giving me the opportunity to do hesed and have a special merit! 

Michele Shrem 

Rabbi Yisrael Abisror is a living example of the adage, “Anyone can make a difference.” Rabbi Abisror grew up in Deal, New Jersey, moved to Aventura, Florida, and then moved his family to Orlando, Florida in order to direct the Orlando branch of YEHUDI. The organization is housed  at the University of Central Florida and focuses on outreach to the university’s 6,000 Jewish students and local young professionals.  

YEHUDI Makes a Difference  

YEHUDI encourages students to participate in learning programs, and those who attend regularly are eligible to participate in trips to Israel and/or other destinations, such as Morocco.  

“We have been blessed to open our home to so many students over the years. We recently did a count and realized we host approximately 2,000 students for Shabbat meals a year,” said Rabbi Abisror. Many of these students previously did not even know about Shabbat.  

“We have minyanim during the week and on Shabbat, kosher food nearby, and an almost complete eruv. The community even incentivizes young couples to come to live in the area. They receive a stipend of $1,000 a month for two years. The houses are large and affordable, and you can raise a family in a beautiful environment without the pressure of keeping up with others,” said Rabbi Abisror.  

Daily Giving 

Rabbi Abisror also serves as the Vice President of Daily Giving, a platform that allows individuals to automate their charitable giving by signing up to give as little as one dollar a day. To date, $10 million has been donated to more than 80 organizations. “This only happened with the help of over 14,000 ‘Daily Givers’ who are making a small difference go a very long way,” said Rabbi Abisror. 

Political Advances – School Vouchers 

Rabbi Abisror is also working to build up a small community nearby in Northeast Orlando. He has worked hard to impact the local community through his  involvement in local politics. He gave the opening invocation to the Florida House of Representatives, invited by Representative Fred Hawkins, through his legislative aide, Ben Rembaum, an alumni of the University of Central Florida. 

Rabbi Abisror recently worked with the OU Teach Coalition organization to lobby for subsidized tuitions for Jewish students from kindergarten through twelfth grade. 

In March of this year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill to establish a statewide voucher program in which every child will be eligible to receive nearly $8,000 toward schooling, tutoring or other education-related expenses. This is an incredible achievement and significantly helps parents of parochial school children to afford the high tuition costs. Now many more Jewish parents will be able to afford to provide their children with a strong Jewish education.  This bill would not have been passed without many individuals personally taking a stand. 

Get Involved to Make a Difference 

A person does not need to have great wealth or influence to make a difference in the world. It is important lesson for us all to recognize that anyone, even a seemingly “regular ordinary person,” can make a difference, too.  

“Around the world we need to focus on our young people who can make a difference by inspiring them and giving them the tools. The most important thing is to get involved and find a way to take responsibility for the Jewish people,” said Rabbi Abisror.  

To find out more about YEHUDI, please visit www.YEHUDI.today. To find out more about Daily Giving, please visit www.dailygiving.org.  

Yissachar is like a donkey with strong bones, who rests between the boundaries. He sees that tranquility is good, and he tilts his shoulder to carry the load (Bereishis 49:14-15). 

Yissachar is the tribe that is sovel, who carries, the load of Torah. But what does that have to do with peace and tranquility? If someone wants peace and tranquility, we wouldn’t expect them to carry a load, but to sit down and relax.  

Rav Yerucham Levovitz (Daas Torah vol. I, p. 280) tells us otherwise. Though we are led to believe that menuchah comes from giving the body rest, it’s the exact opposite. If our serenity derives from physical contentment and fulfillment and having every need met, that’s the source of all confusion, the opposite of menuchah. If we are only accustomed to serenity under specific conditions, and we need to have all those conditions met to attain that serenity, then when those conditions are lacking, we’re going to be thrown out of whack.   

When we get used to any luxury, it quickly becomes a necessity. This is known as the law of diminishing returns. A brand-new luxury car provides a wonderful feeling of pleasure and excitement when first driven. A week goes by, and that excitement begins to diminish. In a month’s time, it no longer feels luxurious. A few weeks later, the driver begins to think about the lease expiring in about three years, and his mind veers to the various makes and models even more luxurious.    

This can also apply to air travel. If we are accustomed to flying only business class, we are going to be miserable when business class is booked and we are “demoted” to coach.  

If we wish to train ourselves to enjoy flying, we are best off sitting in economy class.  

Feeding our wants is like attempting to extinguish a fire with oil. Yes, for a moment, the fire will go down, but soon enough it will flare up even more fiercely. This can also be compared to quenching one’s thirst with salt water. For a moment the thirst recedes, but in time we find ourselves even thirstier. 

 So what do we do?  

Rav Yerucham gives another illustration. How is a soldier trained? Not in air-conditioned hotels with lavish meals and days spent lounging on beach chairs. Navy SEALs, for instance, undergo rigorous training under brutal conditions, with minimal nourishment and sleep, and absolutely no pleasures or extras.  Yet after completing their formal training, they are equipped to endure the physical and mental challenges of any mission with a clear mind.  

This, continues Rav Yerucham, is the meaning of the pasuk cited above. Yissachar saw the true meaning of menuchah and said to himself, “If I want menuchah, I must be sovel; I must be able to tolerate difficult situations.” 

In today’s world, Rav Yerucham laments, we are so fragile. If a groom is missing a small item (nowadays something along the lines of cuff links), he falls apart. We can’t handle when every little detail isn’t exactly the way we like. We think that we’re making ourselves stronger and better by putting recessed heat in the bathroom tiles, so that when we go into the bathtub, our toes won’t be cold! 

This fragility goes beyond our inability to handle insults and affronts. We have difficulty tolerating even a bit of pain. If we think we may possibly be coming down with a mild headache, we immediately pop some ibuprofen or acetaminophen.   At the end of the day, our inability to tolerate any inconvenience or discomfort causes a lack of peace of mind, not the peace of mind one would expect.  

TAKEAWAY  

The next time you are faced with a minor inconvenience, such as sitting in traffic, don’t fix it. Don’t change lanes. Remain in your lane, despite the crawling traffic, and tolerate it, accept it, and live with the situation.  

Learn to “fly economy class.”  

Avi Kumar 

In a beautiful display of granting kavod l’Torah, two celebrations in honor of the hachnasat sefer Torah of a magnificent  sefer Torah, dedicated in memory of Hacham Ovadia Yosef, zt”l, and Rabbi Shlomo Korah, occurred days apart in Brooklyn and Jerusalem. The sefer Torah, donated by the Syrian community, is housed in a stunning silver casing. It was written in Jerusalem and is permanently housed in Bnai Yosef Synagogue in Brooklyn, home to one of the largest Sephardic communities in the United States. The celebrations took place in Brooklyn on May 14th and in Jerusalem on May 18th.   

Both events were blessed with pleasant weather and featured delicious food, and plentiful drinks. The musical accompaniment lent an uplifting spirit to these special celebrations. Approximately 200 people participated in the dedication ceremony in Brooklyn, and  in Jerusalem.   

Memories of Hacham Ovadia, zt”l 

It was a special zechut for Israeli-born Rabbi Uziel Admoni, 44, to organize the events. In fact, he attended both events in person. He said, “I had a special relationship with both rabbis, and was personally ordained by Hacham Ovadia in 2010.” 

Admoni, a member of Bet Din Torah U’Mishpat, described Hacham Ovadia as “one of the greatest religious leaders we have had in our generation.” Hacham Ovadia Yosef was born in 1920 in Ottoman Iraq and moved to Israel at the age of four. He boldly made the halachic ruling that determined that Ethiopian Jews were to be considered halachically Jewish. This was critical to facilitating the aliya of many thousands of Jewish refugees from Ethiopia.  

Rabbi Elie Abadie, Senior Rabbi of the UAE, said, “Hacham Ovadia Yosef wanted to unify all of the Sephardim under one roof and tradition. And he eventually turned out to become the ultimate Sephardic leader of the last one hundred years, if not more!”  

“He returned the Sephardim’s pride and put them at the forefront of Israeli society, whether it be it in Torah scholarship or social and political advancement.” 

Hacham Ovadia was especially known for his special trademark – giving an affectionate smack/caress to the face of youngsters who he was fond of. Many of his followers warmly recall his affectionate pats. Hacham Ovadia visited the Bnai Yosef Synagogue whenever he visited the United States.  

Hacham Ovadia Yosef passed away in October of 2013. The sefer Torah dedications fell almost a decade since his passing.

Celebration in Jerusalem  

The gathering in Jerusalem was a memorable event, attended by  many rabbis, yeshiva students, members of the Knesset, and city officials, notably members of the Shas party.  

Noteworthy among the rabbis was Rabbi Shlomo Amar, former Chief Rabbi of Israel and the current Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem. Rabbi Amar was a talmid of Hacham Ovadia Yosef. Rabbi Amar wrote a letter in the sefer Torah and blessed the donors at both events, in New York and Jerusalem. 

A Special Symbol of Unity 

Rabbi Admoni commented, “Something notable was that the sefer Torah was donated to a shul that has many members and it ultimately represents unity. Both rabbis [who were honored with the writing of the sefer Torah] were very well-known public figures who spoke about the importance of this unity. And our relationship with both of them was based in Torah values and halacha.” 

A special feature of the new sefer Torah is its smaller size, which allows even the younger set to carry it comfortably. Dan Frija, a member of Bnai Yosef for over 20 years, said, “This stunning Torah was just the correct size for an average person to carry and it’s especially more convenient for teenagers who would have the privilege to handle it.” 

“You must see the look in children’s eyes when they’re allowed to carry a sefer Torah for the first time. So, having this particular Torah made ‘just the right size’ will go a long way!” Frija concluded, “It was a magnificent event! 

Rabbi Uziel Admoni 

Abe Shrem, son of the synagogue’s former cantor Gabriel A Shrem (1964-86), said, “Rabbi Admoni knows how to draw in students to study. He knows how to come down to their level and has a great sense of humor. No words can describe the love he has for his students and we are grateful for his work.” 

Shrem’s father tragically passed away in Israel while attending his grandson’s bar mitzvah. Shrem still has tremendous gratitude for Eddie Sitt, then the administrator of the synagogue, who organized for Shrem’s father to be buried at the Mount of Olives. 

Rabbi Admoni said, “Some communities have difficulty getting sifrei Torah and many here felt uplifted that they were able to contribute. 

Maybe one day those who were inspired by this sefer Torah dedication will be able to contribute themselves, enabling the passing on to the next generation the values that we have had for generations and hold so dear.  

“The Torah is one thing that unites all Jewish communities across the world. It is written in the same way with the same letters. Although we might drive different cars and live in different houses and in different countries, our Torah is what we all have in common.” 

Many praised Rabbi Admoni for his work, and voiced that Bnai Yosef is, indeed, privileged to house the new sefer Torah, which is so meaningful. May it serve to inspire all those who pass through Bnai Yosef’s doors.