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Jerusalem Follow-up The Weekly Alumni Newsletter of The Jerusalem Fellowships 16^th of Kislev, 5759 December 5, 1998

Hi everyone,

If you have an HTML enabled email reader, I'm sure you've noticed our new look. (If you don't, you won't probably won't see much difference.) In any case, we still love to hear from you. If you'd like to submit something for everyone to see, you can send it to me at jboretsky@aish.edu, or send it in to the New York Fellowships office at jf@aish.edu.

WINTER PROGRAMS

We're very excited about our new winter programs. Besides record numbers on our JF Winter Break and Internship for Leaders programs, we have also received an enthusiastic response to our new Return and Learn program. The following students have either signed up or are making arrangements with our NY office about returning to Israel this winter on this special three-week learning program.

Jeremy Schulman (Winter '96)
Mike Behar (Summer '97)
Elliot Glassman (Winter '97)
David Gordon (Summer '96)
Emily Juda (Winter '96)
Dawn Miller (Winter '97)
Shoshana Potts (Summer '97)
Gabrielle Benadi (Summer '97)
Emma Akbashev (Summer '97)
Karen Savir (Summer '97)
Andrea Horvitz (Summer '97)
Alyssa Kreimer (Winter '95)
Ilana Kurtz (Summer '96)

Fellowships Alumni Jaime Goldberg (Summer '98) and Yehuda Buchweitz (summer '98) , are also planning to return as participants on our SLT program.

Tamara and I are looking forward to seeing you all, this year... in Jerusalem.

Mazel Tovs

Rabbi Stu and Fannie Schwartz on the birth of a girl
Rabbi Tzvi and Ruth Gluckin on the birth of a
Shelly Leiberman and Joel Padowitz on their engagement
Jeff Mintzes and Shira Specter on their recent marriage
Rabbi Simcha Barnett and Amy Shrager on their engagement

EMAIL ADDRESS UPDATES

I am now in Finland staying with a good friend.
My sister's, Super Sarah Manolson email is:
smanol@po-box.mcgill.ca

Blessings

Have a great day
Nassan Auriel Manolson

---------------------

Ladies and Gentlemen,

All is going well in Israel. I hope all is well with you.
Please note that my E-Mail address has changed to
harrygoldsmith@myself.com
Please respond to tell me that you recieved this.

Thanks,

Harry Goldsmith

Joke of the "Weak"

ACTUAL PERSONALS FROM ISRAELI NEWSPAPERS

Attractive Jewish woman, 35, college graduate, seeks successful Jewish Prince Charming to get me out of my parents' house. POB 46

Shul Gabbai, 36. I take out the Torah Saturday morning. Would like to take you out Saturday night. Please write. POB 81

Couch potato latke, in search of the right applesauce. Let's try It for eight days. Who knows? POB 43.

Divorced Jewish man, seeks partner to attend shul with, light shabbos candles, celebrate holidays, build Sukkah together, attend brisses, bar mitzvahs. Religion not important. PB 658

Orthodox woman with get, seeks man who got get, or can get get.

Get it? I'll show you mine, if you show me yours. POB 72

Sincere rabbinical student, 27. Enjoys Yom Kippur, Tisha B'av, Taanis Esther, Tzom Gedaliah, Asarah B'Teves, Shiva Asar B'Tammuz. Seeks companion for living life in the "fast" lane. POB 90.

Yeshiva bochur, Torah scholar, long beard, payos. Seeks same in woman. POB 43.

Worried about in-law meddling? I'm an orphan! Write. POB 74.

Nice Jewish guy, 38. No skeletons. No baggage. No personality. POB 76

Female graduate student, studying kaballah, Zohar, exorcism of dybbuks, seeks mensch. No weirdos, please. POB 56.

Staunch Jewish feminist, wears tzitzis, seeking male who will accept my independence, although you probably will not. Oh, just forget it. POB 435.

Jewish businessman, 49, manufactures Sabbath candles, Chanukah candles,havdallah candles, Yahrzeit candles. Seeks non-smoker. POB 787.

Israeli professor, 41, with 18 years of teaching in my behind. Looking for American-born woman who speaks English very good. POB 555.

80-year-old bubby, no assets, seeks handsome, virile Jewish male, under 35. Object matrimony. I can dream, can't I? POB 545.

I am a sensitive Jewish prince whom you can open your heart to. Share your innermost thoughts and deepest secrets. Confide in me. I'll understand your insecurities. No fatties, please. POB 86.

Jewish male, 34, very successful, smart, independent, self-made. Looking for girl whose father will hire me. POB 53.

Single Jewish woman, 29, into disco, mountain climbing, skiing, track and field. Has slight limp. POB 76

Desparately seeking shmoozing! Retired senior citizen desires female companion 70+ for kvetching, kvelling, and krechtzing. Under 30 is also OK. POB 64

Inspiration

I recently received this in my emailbox. I was so touched that I wanted to share it with you.

The Flower The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree. Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown, For the world was intent on dragging me down. And if that weren't enough to ruin my day, A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play He stood right before me with his head tilted down And said with a great excitement, "look what I found" In his hand was a flower, what a pitiful sight, With its petals all worn-not enough rain, or too little light. Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to lay, I faked a small smile and then shifted away. But instead of retreating, he sat next to my side And placed the flower to his nose and declared with a surprise, "It sure smells pretty and it is beautiful, too That is why I picked it, here it is for you The weed before me was dying..or dead Not vibrant of colors, orange, yellow, or red. But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave So I reached for the flower, and replied, "Just what I need" But instead of him placing the flower in my hand, He held it mid-air without reason or plan. It was then that I noticed for the first time That weed-totting boy could not see-he was blind. I heard my voice quiver, tears shone like the sun As I thanked him for picking the very best one. "You're welcome", he smiled, and then ran off to play, Unaware of the impact that he had on my day. I sat there and wondered how he managed to see A self-pitying man beneath an old willow tree. How did he know of my self-indulged plight? Perhaps from his heart, he'd been blessed with true sight Through the eys of a blind child, at least I could see The problem was not with the world; the problem was with me. And for all those times I myself had been blind, I vowed to see the beauty in life, and appreciate every second that's mine. And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose And smiled as I watched that young boy, another weed in his hand About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man. (perhaps he was an angel!)

That's it for now. Before I leave you with this weeks Shabbat Shalom Weekly, I'd like to once again invite you to contribute to Jerusalem Follow-up. We love to hear from you. See you next week.

Josh

AISH HATORAH'S Shabbat Shalom Weekly 16^th of Kislev, 5759 December 5, 1998 Over 4,900 Internet Subscribers! Over 100,000 Readers Worldwide! Aish HaTorah -- To Light the Fire of Torah in Every Jewish Heart! GOOD MORNING! Many of us labor under the common misconception that happiness is a happening: if only I had that 1939 Packard, if only I had a nicer home, if only I could sing on key—then I would be happy. The Torah teaches that happiness is an obligation. It is actually a mitzvah to be happy! While very few people like obligations, this is at least one that they can see is for their own good.

I received the following piece via the internet:

"We convince ourselves that life will be better after we get married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren't old enough and we'll be more content when they are. After that we're frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage.

We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is, there's no better time to be happy than right now. If not now, when? Your life will always be filled with challenges. It's best to admit this to yourself and decide to be happy anyway.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Alfred D Souza. He said, ‘For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.'

This perspective has helped me to see that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So, treasure every moment that you have. And treasure it more because you shared it with someone special, special enough to spend your time ... and remember that time waits for no one...

So, stop waiting until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you lose ten pounds, until you gain ten pounds, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you start work, until you retire, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car or home, until your car or home is paid off, until spring, until summer, until fall, until winter, until you are off welfare, until the first or fifteenth, until your song comes on, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are born again to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy ... Happiness is a journey, not a destination."

Thought for the Day Work like you don't need money, Love like you've never been hurt, And dance like no one's watching. The Secret for Happiness: focus on what you have and you will be happy. The Secret for Misery: focus on what you don't have and you will be miserable. TORAH PORTION: Vayishlach, Genesis 32:4 - 36:43 On the trip back to Canaan, Jacob meets his brother Esau; Jacob wrestles with the angel; they arrive in Shechem; Shechem, the son of Chamor the Hivite, (heir to the town of Shechem) rapes Jacob's daughter, Dina; Dina's brothers, Shimon and Levy, massacre the men of Shechem; Rebecca (Rivka) dies; G-d gives Jacob an additional name, "Israel," and reaffirms the blessing to Avraham that the land of Canaan (Israel) will be given to his descendants; Rachel dies after giving birth to Benjamin (Binyomin); Jacob's sons are listed; Isaac dies; Esau's lineage is recorded as is that of Seir the Horite; lastly, the succession of the Kings of Edom is chronicled.
DVAR TORAH: Based on Growth Through Torah by Rabbi Zelig Pliskin The Torah states, "And Esau said, ‘I have a lot.'
And Jacob said,‘I have everything.' " (Genesis 33:9,10,11) Which of the two brothers is richer?

The Chofetz Chaim, the greatest rabbi of the last generation, commented that with these two remarks we see the difference between the worldviews of Jacob and Esau. Esau said that he had a lot. Even though he had a large amount, he would still want more, for "whoever has a hundred wants two hundred." Jacob, however, said, "I have everything." I am not missing anything at all. Esau constantly wanted more, while Jacob felt great satisfaction in what he had.

Regardless of how much you have, there is always much more that you want. Having the attitude that you never really have enough will cause you constant frustration. If you focus on what you lack or think you lack, your life will be filled with anxiety and suffering. The choice is yours to be truly rich or to be "poor" with many possessions!

Internalize the attitude of Jacob: "I have everything that I need." Pirke Avos, Ethics of our Fathers (found in the back of most traditional prayer books), teaches us, "Who is the rich person? He who is happy with his portion." If you focus on what you have, you will be happy.

Of course, you have a right to try to acquire more. However, if you are unable to, you will feel calm and serene. If you do acquire more, very good. If not, it is a sign that for your best interests you do not really need any more.

CANDLE LIGHTING: Jerusalem 3:59 Miami 5:11 New York 4:10 LA 4:26 Hong Kong 5:23 London 3:37 Moscow 3:42 Singapore 6:38 Guatemala 5:14 Honolulu 5:30 J'Burg 6:30 Melbourne 7:39

"QUOTE OF THE WEEK": A person is as happy as he makes up his mind to be.

Jerusalem Follow-up
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jboretsky@aish.edu
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