Hakarat HaTov Corner This has, thank God, been an epic week at Shaare, and for my family and me personally. Last Shabbos was phenomenal! My ears are still ringing with the davening of Aaron Kohl, and the wedding tunes-themed kedushot of Shacharit and mussaf led by Elli Wolk and Rabbi Haskel Lookstein. Rabbi Lookstein’s sermon, about bringing one’s own individuality to the fixed texts of tefillah, beautifully treated a dilemma that we all face. The energy over Shabbat was unbelievable, and it was just what we needed after a difficult week. I am grateful to all of them for all they did to make Shabbat an unforgettable one. To be candid, I am also grateful to Rabbi Lookstein for his undeservedly effusive words about me!. This past Monday, we celebrated the wedding of my brother Elia, as I mentioned in last week’s communication. I am grateful to the Ribbono Shel Olam for bringing Elia and Naomi together, and allowing my family to travel in good health, excellent weather and minimal hassles to and from the wedding (aside from those inherent in traveling with, B”H, 4 kids, and having those kids as members of a wedding party…).
(Back row: L-R: Serena Rackovsky held by Dana Rackovsky, Ori Rackovsky, Elia Rackovsky, Naomi Rackovsky, my parents, Noya and Shelly Rackovsky, Me, Tzivi held by Jessica Front Row: Jojo and Shmuel Rackovsky, Shevy, Avremi and Shaya Rackovsky)
After navigating traffic in the New York area for three days, I am even more grateful to the Ribbono Shel Olam for bringing us here; it took us longer to cross the 97th Street Central Park transverse from the Upper East to Upper West Sides than it typically does for Jessica to get to work every morning!
Rabbi’s Recommendations This week, I was fortunate to have appeared in print in two different publications. First, The Jewish Press runs a weekly feature called Word Prompt, where they provide a word and different people write something short about what it evokes. This week’s word is Salty- see what I wrote here.
I also have a letter to the editor published in Mishpacha Magazine, in response to a remarkable article by Dovi Safier about the life and efforts of Rabbi Dr. Leo Jung- Senior Rabbi and Rabbi Emeritus at The Jewish Center for six decades- in saving Jews during WWII, and particularly in fundraising for Torah institutions in Europe and Israel. I’ve written in this space about Rabbi Jung, and am glad to have the opportunity to share some details about his life that didn’t make it into the article (which I high recommend reading):
A Clean Sweep Finally, this coming Sunday will be the wedding of Shimi Wolk and Marissa Cinnamon. There is one thing both of them have in common with my brother- all three of them are the mezinkehs of their families, the last child to get married. There is a tradition at Jewish weddings- even among the most devout communities- that when a family is blessed to marry off all their children, at the wedding of the last child to get married, all the children dance around the parents holding brooms and making sweeping motions, while this song is played (usually slower). This is often an emotional moment- I can tell you it was at my brother’s wedding, and one of my brothers spent quite a bit of time locating the perfect brooms for the occasion. But is it a Jewish custom at all? Read this fascinating article by Reuven Becker, a fascinating deep dive into this tradition.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
Congregation Shaare Tefilla 6131 Churchill Way Dallas, TX 75230
