Simchas Torah Bash, NY Trip, and more

Hey Everybody,

So Sukkot is already halfway done. And despite midterms and other stresses, so far the joy has been infectious. Here’s a run-down of the rest of the week. And of course I you’re your attention once again to the main event – The Simchas Torah Bash on Saturday night. PLEASE scroll down and check it out. (Of course, it’s also on facebook!)

Make sure to scroll down past the holiday stuff for info on two exciting trips for which time to sign up is quickly running out – free Birthright Israel trip for this winter, and our amazing New York Trip – International Student Shabbaton coming up on Nov. 2-5.

One last thing for the intro. We’re in the process of putting together an amazing Winter Break Ski Retreat for women. The price is too ridiculously low for me to even say here, but make sure to check out our new website (still under development) at http://www.winterbreak.info/

See you soon!

Sukkot Happenings and Simchas Torah Bash

1) Tonight – Tuesday, Oct. 10. 6:30 pm.
Kabbalah and Kabob – BBQ in the Chabad House Sukkah
Come over for some delicious BBQ in the Sukkah, relax a little bit with a Hukkah, enjoy some Sukkot celebration.

2) All Week – Shake the Lulav.
10:00 am – 5:30 pm. Right on campus, at the Sukkah in front of Taper Hall.
Or 11:00 am – 2:00 pm on the Health Sciences Campus, in the Sukkah on the quad.

3) Tomorrow – Wednesday Oct. 11 – Make and design a Havdalah candle
Part of our Jewish Art Forms series
Along with delicious kosher BBQ for sale.
12:30 – 2:30 pm at the Sukkah on Trousdale in front of Taper Hall

4) Also Tomorrow – Wednesday, Oct. 11
Grad and Alumni EventWine and Cheese and Fondue – Comedy Night
At the Kravitz Residence in the Pico-Robertson area
Contact Zalman@jewsforjudaism.org for more info and to rsvp

5) Thursday, Oct. 12 – 7th annual Pizza in the Hut
Enjoy hot, kosher pizza and some insights about Sukkot.
12:15 – 2:15 pm in the Trousdale Sukkah in front of Taper

6) Friday, Oct. 13. Torah Dancing Warm-ups
A beautiful tradition has the Jews of the Diaspora dancing Hakafot on Friday night as well, as a way of feeling a part of our brethren in Israel who are celebrating Simchas Torah that night.
Services: 6:00 pm
Kiddush and hors d’ouvres: 6:55 pm
Dancing: 7:45 pm
Shabbat and Holiday Dinner: 9:00 pm

7) Saturday, Oct. 14 – Pre-game
9:30 am. Morning Learning
10:15 am Services
12:00 pm Yizkor Memorial services
1:00 pm Lunch-Tailgate

8) Saturday Oct. 14. The Main EventS
aturday Night LIVE – Simchas Torah Bash
Horah with the Torah, L’chaims (w. id), dancing and celebrating all night long.
Come for services or come celebrate after the game – either way, this night’s for you!
7:30 pm – Services
8:00 pm – 2:00 am Dancing with the Torahs and celebration

9) Sunday, Oct. 15 – The aftermath
Morning Services: 10:30 amTorah reading, dancing, and celebration all day long

10) Last call for Birthright – Registration extended until the day after tomorrow
There are no more chances for this winter after this. 10 free days that will last a lifetime. http://www.mayanotisrael.com/ or contact Chava at frankiel@usc.edu for more info

11) NY TripNov. 2 – 5.
$200- all-expense paid (including food, lodging activities, and ticket). For USC students only.
Sightseeing. Shabbat with 500-600 Jewish students from universities throughout the country and around the world. Hasidic reggae and rap artists in live concert. And much, much, more.
Time is running out, and spaces are filling up. Contact Chava at frankiel@usc.edu for more details.

12) Thought for the Week
Love, Marriage and Hakafot

By Yanki Tauber


Men usually don't sit over coffee talking about their marriages. That's why a particular conversation between three males stuck in my mind -- we were discussing the joys of wedded life.

"I love my wife," said Berl. "That's why I do everything she asks me to do. She says, 'Berl, please take out the garbage,' and right away, I take out the garbage."

We all agreed that Berl loves his wife.

Not to be outdone, I said: "I also do everything my wife asks me to do. In fact, she doesn't even have to spell out what she wants. It's enough that she says, 'Whew! That garbage bag is sure smelling up the kitchen!' for me to understand that she wants me to take out the garbage. Which I do, of course."

We all agreed that I love my wife even more than Berl loves his.

But in the end it turned out that Shmerl's marriage was the most loving of all. Shmerl's wife doesn't have to ask her husband to do things for her. She doesn't even have to drop hints. "I wake up in the morning" Shmerl explained, "and I just know that she wants me to take out the garbage. Or buy her a diamond ring. She doesn't have to crinkle her nose or mention the ring her cousin Sarah got for her birthday. I just know what she wants me to do for her, and I do it."


It is with our observance of the Jewish traditions and customs that we express the depth of our love for G-d
The month of Tishrei is replete with mitzvot--full of opportunities for carrying out G-d's will. For more than three weeks, our days are filled with praying, repenting, fasting, feasting, dancing, building a sukkah, acquiring a set of Four Kinds or a bundle of hoshaanot, and dozens of other mitzvot, customs and observances.

The observances of Tishrei fall under three general categories. There are biblical precepts that are explicitly commanded in the Torah, such as sounding the shofar on Rosh HaShanah, fasting on Yom Kippur or eating in the sukkah on Sukkot. There are also a number of rabbinical mitzvot--observances instituted by the prophets and the sages by the authority vested in them by the Torah. For example, the five prayer services held on Yom Kippur and the taking of the Four Kinds on all but the first day of Sukkot are rabbinical institutions.

Finally, the month of Tishrei has many minhagim or customs--such as eating an apple dipped in honey on the first night of Rosh HaShanah or conducting the kaparot in the wee hours of the morning on the day before Yom Kippur. The traditions are not mandated by biblical or rabbinical law, but by force of custom: these are things that we Jews have initiated ourselves as ways to enhance our service of our Creator.

Most amazingly, the climax of the month of Tishrei--the point at which our celebration of our bond with G-d attains the very pinnacle of joy--is during the hakafot of Simchat Torah, when we take the Torah scrolls in our arms and dance with them around the reading table in the synagogue--a practice that is neither a biblical nor a rabbinical precept, but merely a custom.

For it is with our observance of the customs and traditions that we express the depth of our love for G-d. The biblical commandments might be compared to the explicitly expressed desires between two people bound in marriage. The rabbinical mitzvot, on which G-d did not directly instruct us but which nevertheless constitute expressions of the divine will, resemble the implied requests between spouses. But the traditions represent those areas in which we intuitively sense how we might cause G-d pleasure. And in these lie our greatest joy.


So join us please for the celebration on Simchas Torah, as we dance with the Torahs and express our delight in the relationship we share with G-d and with each other!

Chag Sameach,
Dov and Runya Wagner