Mr. Robert Tanen from the ADL addressed the South Florida Shomrim Society regarding recent events that have taken place in the State of Florida that directly impact the Jewish community.

In the Hebrew numeric there is no digit parallel to zero. The letters of the Alphabet serve as numbers. In the secular writings zero is utilized very much. In this method a multiple series of zeros add up to nothing. A digit placed in front of them will equal millions.

Prayer is a worship of the heart (Taanis 2A). We pray three times daily. With such frequency, there exists a risk of sometimes reciting a prayer by rote, uninspired and without proper concentration. What is the value of such heartless prayer? How can this failure be corrected?

In the thirty ninth chapter of Tanya we are told that even though there might be an accumulation of uninspired prayers, one sincere supplication coming forth out of the depths of our heart and soul will raise all of the past prayers to this one’s high level.

Imagine a person who suffered severe financial losses and is given an opportunity to reverse his failures and convert them into immense profits. He would set everything aside and go on with an all-out effort  to bring this about.

Minchah of Erev Rosh Hashanah presents all of us with a precious opportunity to reflect back on our prayer worship of the past year. We will offer this Minchah with full devoted concentration and an outpouring from the depths of our hearts.  We will be placing  a “1” in front of all past zeros and convert them to millions. We will conclude the year with abundant merit and we will look ahead anticipating a blessed New Year.

תכלה שנה וקללותיה - תחל שנה וברכותיה

The past year’s curses will be eliminated

The New Year will begin with all its blessings

 
So she went to check it out. She went to the Western Wall and there he was, walking slowly up to the holy site.
 
She watched him pray and after about 45 minutes, when he turned to leave, using a cane and moving very slowly, she approached him for an interview.
 
"Pardon me, sir, I'm Rebecca Smith from CNN. What's your name?"
 
"Morris Feinberg," he replied.
 
"Sir, how long have you been coming to the Western Wall and praying?"

"For about 60 years."
 
"60 years! That's amazing! What do you pray for?"
 
"I pray for peace between the Christians, Jews and the Muslims."
"I pray for all the wars and all the hatred to stop."
"I pray for all our children to grow up safely as responsible adults, and to love their fellow man."
 
"How do you feel after doing this for 60 years?"
 
"Like I'm talking to a concrete wall."

If you can make it to support Dave, please do so.  Otherwise be sure to punch him in the shoulder (an old military rite after promotion) the next time you see him.  Or, just say congrats!

Back then, they returned milk bottles, soda bottles and beer bottles to the store. The store sent them back to the plant to be washed and sterilized and refilled, so it could use the same bottles over and over. So they really were recycled. But they didn't have the green thing back then.

In her day, they walked up stairs, because they didn't have an escalator in every building. They walked to the grocery store and didn't get into a 300-horsepower auto every time they had to go two blocks. They didn't have the green thing.

Back then, they washed the baby's diapers because they didn't have disposables. Laundry did dry not in an energy gobbling machine – it went outdoors on a line, wind and solar power really did the drying. Kids got hand-me-down clothes from their brothers or sisters, not always brand-new garments. But that old lady is right; they didn't have the green thing back in her day.

Back then, they had one TV, or radio, in the house - not a TV in every room. And the TV had a small screen the size of a handkerchief, not a screen the size of the Wall. In the kitchen, they blended and stirred by hand because they didn't have electric machines to do everything. When they packaged a fragile item to send in the mail, wadded up old newspapers cushioned it, not Styrofoam or plastic bubble wrap. Back then, they didn't fire up an engine and burn gas just to cut the lawn. They used a manual push mower. They exercised by working -- no need to go to a health club to run on electrically operated treadmills. But they didn't have the green thing.

They drank from a fountain when they were thirsty instead of using a cup or a plastic bottle. They refilled their writing pens with ink instead of buying a new pen, and they replaced the razor blades in a razor instead of throwing away the whole razor just because the blade got dull. But they didn't have the green thing back then.  

Back then, people took the tram or a bus and kids rode bikes to school or went on the bus. Rooms had one electrical outlet not an entire bank of sockets to power a dozen appliances. And they didn't need a computerized gadget to receive a signal beamed from satellites 2,000 miles out in space in order to find the nearest pizza place.

Those old people should have gone green!

Being Green -- The New Thing