Rabbi Abrams Blog

Tomorrow is a very special day for all of us and I'll be spending this weekend in NY, so the class and services will be led by the junior rabbinate.  Gimmel Tammuz is the yahrzeit of the Rebbe, and it's a day of mixed feelings.  It is the Rebbe's Day, but we haven't had closure like we have for most other people that pass away.  I want to tell you a little bit more about why I travel to NY for this, but first:  It's calendar season again!  I know that you enjoy receiving our calendar every year and reference it often, at least for the Shabbat candle lighting times.  We are continuing this service again for 5779 and we'd love to have you be a part of it.  If you aren't sure if we have your address or if you're on our calendar list, please fill out the form  here .  If you would like to add personal birthdays, yahrzeits or anniversaries, or if you'd like to be a sponsor of our calendar and take an ad, please visit  jewishtemecula.com/ads ...

  What a week.  Natanya and I took advantage of an opportunity to stay in an empty house in LA so four of our children can attend camp!  The bonus is that we get to spend some focused time on Chabad programming for the upcoming year, so I hope to share that with you soon.  Did you ever meet someone who was completely fooling them self about who they are and what life is about?  What about someone who is a good person, but has this blind spot about them, that makes them really annoying to be around?  I definitely do.  As a matter of fact, pretty much everyone I know is like that in one way or another.  The more blind someone is about themself, the less I want to be around them.  The thing is, that the more I realize other people's blind spots, the more I wonder about my own.  Do I have one?  Well, I don't see it, but then again, no one does!  So I asked Natanya.  "Do I have a blind spot?"  I don't remember he...

  Tomorrow is a very special day for all of us and I'll be spending this weekend in NY.  Gimmel Tammuz is the yahrzeit of the Rebbe, and it's a day of mixed feelings.  It is the Rebbe's Day, but we haven't had closure like we have for most other people that pass away.  I want to tell you a little bit more about why I travel to NY for this. Usually, a yahrzeit is a day to reflect on and celebrate a person's life work.  Tradition has it that each soul is given a mission before it is born.  When that soul finishes it's mission, it returns back to  G-d's presence.  In the case of the Rebbe, he made it pretty clear that despite all the amazing things that he accomplished (I actually read an article written by a Silicon Valley CEO describing how the Rebbe's outreach and organizational work is literally more successful than Facebook, and he gave numbers to back it up!), his mission in life was to bring Moshiach. So, as much as the Rebbe accomplished, it ...

  Time is short, so let me tell you about the cookie last night.  Natanya has been doing a lot of catering the past couple weeks (check out  jewishtemecula.com/catering ) and we had some cookies come straight out of the oven.  Of course I had to try them, but after one and then two, I realized that I could just keep going! A whole slew of excuses started popping into my head.  "Come on! You have a lot going on now, and you're working so hard for Chabad, the community and your family.  You deserve to let go and indulge for just tonight." But another voice popped up telling me, "Hey Yonasan.  You're feeling yourself gain weight and you need to stay in control." I realized that indeed, I'm just sick of staying in control. I managed to push the cookies away, but ten minutes later I picked another one up.  "This will be the last one".  That's when it hit me that the only way I'll ever be in control is if I can master the moment.  Control...

Did you know that 3,300 years ago, in the first Exodus from Egypt, only 20% of the Jews left Egypt? 80% of Jews died during the 8th plague of darkness. Why?  The Midrash teaches that they didn't want to leave, so G-d caused them to die while the Egyptians wouldn't see so they could be buried before the Exodus. 80%!? How could it be that after 210 years of bitter slavery and 8 plagues, where the hand of G-d is obvious, 80% of the Jews would rather stay in Egypt? After learning that every person has their own Egypt in their personal life, it all made sense to me though. Some people are stuck in addictions, some in bad relationships, some with mental health & some in physical health issues. The sad truth is that it's easier to die than to change. Ask all the addicts out there why they don't just stop and change their ways. It's really hard. This also explains why so many of the Jews didn't leave Europe even though they knew the holocaust was coming. C...

On Wednesday , yet another terrible school shooting happened.  17 beautiful souls were lost including four Jewish souls.   There is really nothing to say to the families of those who lost loved ones.  To think that a place of education and morals could be turned into a bloody battlefield is horrifying.   People on both sides of the political aisle are running to point fingers at each other.  Some want tighter gun laws and some blame mental health.  They're both probably right.   There is something though, that no one wants to talk about. What about the violent culture that children are brought up with on TV, movies, and video games?  The reason that Hollywood gives so much attention to violence and gunfire is because it sells. Kids absorb all this stuff on a daily basis.  They dream about it, they play about it and they glorify the actors who kill other people on stage.  And then everyone wonders why there are so man...

Could we become like this too? This week, a horrifying story hit international news from just a couple miles away in Perris. The Turpin parents, who had been abusing & starving their thirteen children for decades were finally exposed and caught, thanks to their 17 year old girl who escaped and called 911. These kids had been beaten, starved, and chaine  their family trips would make my kids jealous! Lot's of fun trips to Disneyland and Vegas, with everyone dressed up so nicely in matching clothes. A friend of Louise Turpin dubbed her as a "supermom" on facebook! d to their beds without being allowed to go to the bathroom or take showers. Ironically, the pictures that are surfacing of How do these things happen? Obviously these parents were really sick and depraved people, but how did they become like that? Reports are saying that this systematic abuse intensified over time. What started out twenty years ago in Texas as neglect (the parents would leave them at...