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 For the past 734 days, the entire Young Israel movement, together with countless people throughout the world, has prayed for the release and safe return of our Israeli MIA’s of the 2nd Lebanon war. Sadly, only the bodies of Ehud Goldwasser z"l and Eldad Regev z"l have come home to be laid to rest amongst the heroes of the Jewish people, in the land of the Jewish people. While their valiant efforts to defend the land of Israel and protect our people are heartwarming, their senseless and tragic murders are heartbreaking. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Goldwasser and Regev families: HaMakom Yenancheim Etchem B'toch Shaar Aveilei Tzion V’Yerushalayim (May G-d comfort the mourners amongst the other mourners for Zion and Jerusalem.)
G-d’s plan for His people is the mystery of eternity. It is not for us to question Him or to ask why. Rather, we must look at ourselves, our actions, the way we speak to one another, and how we care for those less fortunate than ourselves. We must continue with our prayers and acts of kindness on behalf of Israel's remaining MIA's: Gilad Schalit, Zachary Baumel, Tzvi Feldman, Yehuda Katz and Ron Arad, and seek mercy from G-d that the Kassams, the mortar fire, and the indiscriminate killing of our brethren at the hands of our enemies stop.
This is a sad day for Israel and the Jewish people worldwide, coming just days before the onset of the three week period commemorating the destruction of our holy Temple in Jerusalem. May the Almighty have compassion on the Regev and Goldwasser families, may He help us cope with this monumental disaster to the Jewish people, and may we see quickly in our time the ultimate reunification of the families of the fallen with their beloved as we herald in the coming of the Messiah.
In this Issue:
Torah Related Items and Rabbinic Resources
Back to School with the Children of SDEROT and GUSH KATIF
Young Israel Launches SMSSDEROT Campaign - Taking 15 Seconds to Take Action
Focus on CYIR Leadership Awardees: Rabbi Simcha Krauss
Good and Welfare
Current and Upcoming Events
Pomeranz Bookseller's Weekly Selection
Torah Related Items and Rabbinic Resources
 a) Divrei Torah Bulletin for this Shabbat: Please find NCYI’s Divrei Torah Bulletin for Korach written by Rabbi Yonah Gross, Young Israel of Phoenix, AZ, by clicking this link.
b) Our chaver Rabbi David Mescheloff informs us that he has created an online biography on the life and times of his father, Rabbi Dr. Moses Mescheloff OB"M. The story of his 75 years of active rabbanut, the generations that he spanned and his meeting the challenges he faced, can inspire any rabbi. "My father z"l left a deep spiritual imprint on the souls of tens of thousands whom he taught and served over the years" Rabbi Mescheloff said. Click here to access Rabbi Dr. Mescheloff's biography.
c) Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, Rosh Yeshiva of Ateret Cohanim in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem and the rabbi of Bet El, will respond to all SMS messages on any issue regarding halacha or hashkafa. SMS messages can be sent by Rabbanim to Rabbi Aviner at 052 365 3028. Service available only in Israel.
d) Our chaver Rav Mordechai Friedfertig advises us that Rav Aviner's weekly Parashah sheet, "On the Air with Rav Aviner" is available free of charge via email subscription. Contact Rabbi Friedfertig at mororly@bezeqint.net
e) TWO NEW FEATURES COMING TO "TORAH RELATED ITEMS..." - in the near future, we will presenting weekly book reviews and CYIR audio/visual Divrei Torah available on the internet. Contact CYIR for more information: info@youngisraelrabbis.org.il
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Back to School with the Children of SDEROT and GUSH KATIF
 As summer vacation gets into full swing, the furthest thing from anyone's mind is the start of the next school year.
However, for the some 3000 elementary school students from the city of Sderot and the ex-Gush Katif communities, going back to school can be a source of major financial stress.
CYIR: Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel invites you to join us in its "Back to School with the Children of Sderot and Gush Katif" campaign. It’s very simple: we want to place a fully stocked pencil case filled with writing implements and other “goodies” on each child’s desk as a “welcome back” message of solidarity. Our aim is that when these students arrive in their classrooms for the first day of school on September 1, there will be a pencil case waiting for them on their desk.
Help put a smile on the faces of these students that have gone through so much. The cost of each pencil case is $10 (or NIS 35) and we need to reach a total of 3000 pencil cases to ensure that every student receives this small but significant token of the oneness of our people.
Donations can be made in US Dollars via PayPal for $10 USD by clicking this link.
Donations can be made in Israeli Shekels via PayPal for NIS 35 by clicking this link.
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Young Israel Launches SMSSDEROT Campaign - Taking 15 Seconds to Take Action
 We always hope and pray for peace. The people of Sderot and the Western Negev have been praying for that elusive peace for seven long years, sometimes at fifteen second intervals. What does it feel like to know you have only fifteen seconds to react, to find your children, to find an aging parent, locate your husband? The National Council of Young Israel has developed a way that perhaps you could feel that urgency.
Introducing SMSSDEROT: a real time text message if, Heaven forbid, a rocket is fired at SDEROT or anywhere in Israel. When the Tzeva Adom (RED ALERT) goes off, we will send subscribers a text message that reads:
A KASSAM HAS BEEN LAUNCHED AT... YOU HAVE FIFTEEN SECONDS TO: (and you choose)
1) Recite Psalms Chapter 130
2) Give Charity
3) Call the UN, the White House, the Knesset, your Senators and Congressmen
4) Pause for a moment and pray for the people of Sderot
“Project SMS gives us a sense of just how little time the people of Sderot have to react when an incoming rocket is hurtling towards their homes,” said NCYI President Shlomo Z. Mostofsky, “While the citizens of Sderot use those fifteen seconds to try and avoid the deadly rockets and the ensuing damage, we need to use those fifteen seconds to undertake a meaningful action, such as saying a prayer or giving charity on their behalf.”
Click here to subscribe to Project SMS and sign up to receive the emergency alert text messages
Click here to download the SMSSDEROT advertisement.
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Focus on CYIR Leadership Awardees: Rabbi Simcha Krauss
 Rabbi Simcha Krauss is no stranger to the Young Israel movement. As rabbi of Young Israel of St. Louis, MO (11 years), rabbi of Young Israel of Hillcrest, NY (25 years), and immediate past president of CYIR: Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel, Rabbi Krauss is a Young Israel icon. CYIR is indeed fortunate that Rabbi Krauss has agreed to continue his efforts on behalf of Young Israel as Chairman of the Executive and serving as the Yosheiv Rosh of our Vaad Halacha.
It is precisely for his dedication to Young Israel and the Jewish people that CYIR will honor Rabbi Krauss with the presentation of a Leadership Award at its 18th Anniversary Celebration.
Rabbi Krauss will be honored with other awardees at CYIR's 18th Anniversary Celebration on Friday morning, September 5, 2008 at the Ramada Hotel (formerly the Renaissance) in Jerusalem. Click here for more information.
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MAZAL TOV
Esther Altmann, editor, NCYI's Viewpoint Magazine, on the engagement of her son Avi to Tzippy Feldblum of Teaneck, NJ.
BRUCHIM HABAIM
Rabbi Shlomo Hochberg, Young Israel of Jamaica Estates, NY.
Participants of Young Israel's ACHVA Summer Program who arrived in Israel this week.
Roger Braverman, NCYI Director of Summer Programs.
REFUAH SHLEIMAH
Rabbi Chaim Wasserman, CYIR President.
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Current and Upcoming Events
SAVE THESE DATES:
Thursday evening, August 7/6 Menachem Av - CYIR Presents "An Evening of Remembrance: Disengagement From Gaza Three Years Later." Speakers to include HaRav Yosef Zvi Rimon, Anita Tucker, and others. DETAILS REGARDING TIME AND LOCATION WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY.
Monday, August 25, 2008/24 Menachem Av 5768 - CYIR Day Trip - JERUSALEM TODAY - CYIR: Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel, in conjunction with AIAC: American Israeli Action Coalition cordially invites you to join us for a Day Trip: JERUSALEM TODAY. Visit and view the sites of strategic interest in today’s “battle” for Yerushalayim: Ma’ale Adumim, E1 , Abu Dis, Mount Scopus, Ramat Rachel, Bethlehem, Gush Etzion, Har Homa, Gilo and more! Price: NIS 120 per person - includes light lunch. RSVP and for more information: mush@youngisraelrabbis.org.il / 02-625-4983 Ext.111
Monday evening, August 25, 2008/24 Menachem Av 5768 - CYIR Presents: AFMDA Blood Drive/YESHA Fair: to take place at Heichal Shlomo, 58 King George Street, Jerusalem. Details regarding both the blood drive and the YESHA Fair to be posted shortly. Check www.youngisraelrabbis.org.il periodically for updates.
Friday, September 5/5 Elul – CYIR Celebrates 18 Years of Service to Israel by honoring its Founders, Leaders and Builders at a Friday morning brunch at the Ramada Hotel (formerly the Renaissance) in Jerusalem. Founders being honored include Rabbis Meyer Fendel, Macy Gordon, James Gordon, Sholom Gold, Yeshaya Heisler, and Nachman Kahana. In addition to the founders, Rabbi Simcha Krauss, Rabbi Chanoch Yeres, and Dr. Lorell Blass will be honored for their leadership of CYIR programs that have become the hallmark of its activities. Our guest of honor will be Mr. Yaacov Moreshet, head of Hilat Shoham Ltd., an investment firm which picks companies that conform to halacha to serve as their investment base. CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS.
Monday - Tuesday, September 15-16/15-16 Elul - CYIR Yarchei Kallah Program in Jerusalem - DETAILS AND TOPICS WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY.
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Pomeranz Booksellers of Jerusalem - Weekly Selection
 "Apples from the Orchard: Gleanings from the Mystical Teachings of Rabbi Yitzchak Luria – the Arizal, on the Weekly Torah Portion" Translation and Commentary by Rabbi Moshe Wisnefsky; 1070 Pages!
The “Arizal,” (Rabbi Yitzchak Luria, 1534 – 1572) is the central figure of Kabbalah as it is studied today. The vast corpus of his teachings revolutionized the study of Kabbalah and is the basis for all Kabbalistic and Chassidic thought since his time, as well as the prism through which we view today all the prior works of Kabbalah – including the Zohar. The Arizal’s thought has had an indelible influence on Jewish philosophy, liturgy, and even Jewish Law.
Among the most fascinating of the Arizal’s teachings are his expositions on the Torah itself. Using the classic methods of rabbinic interpretation (with a marked emphasis on gematria), the Arizal unfolds before us a hidden dimension of the stories and laws of the Torah, showing how they reflect the inner dynamics of reality and how our knowledge and observance of the Torah is crucial to the proper functioning of creation.
Price $60.00 - Free Shipping. Ordering instructions: send an email to Pomeranz@netmedia.net.il. Please include in your order, your name, address and phone number. For your security, they will call you for your credit card details.
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CYIR: Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel 
