I am deeply grateful to all of you who called, emailed, texted or sent best wishes through Jessica during my illness last weekend. Your concern for my well being is deeply touching and appreciated. I pray that all of you enjoy only the best of health, and that your kindness never needs to be reciprocated. A special thank you as well to Rabbi Yaakov Tannenbaum for delivering a Dvar Torah in my absence on Shabbat morning.
Baruch Hashem, after many negative tests, it was clear that I was battling “the cruds” (medically, "viral pharyngitis")- a fever and a nasty sore throat that are gone now. It was the first time since before my Bar Mitzvah that I refrained from fasting on a fast day (which I did upon Rabbinic orders from a Rabbi who isn’t me) and it did not feel the same… But there are people in our community who are really ill, and people who come to Dallas for major medical treatment and need a lot of help navigating a different city and medical community. At this time, it is worth highlighting the amazing work that Bikur Cholim of Dallas is doing- and urge everyone to volunteer to help them in any way possible. This includes driving people to appointments (particularly if you are able to help with language barriers, like with Hebrew or Yiddish), help assembling Shabbat packages at community events (stay tuned for more upcoming events as well) and, of course, financial support.
Finally, Shaya returned from Camp Stone this week together with many other Dallas kids. The end of camp is always bittersweet- especially for younger kids, it means they likely won’t see their new friends for another year, and part of the summer- an intensely fun one- is drawing to a close. But the memories they made and the new friends they now have outlast the summer, and Shaya and his friends looked really happy- for that I am grateful.
Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky
Congregation Shaare Tefilla 6131 Churchill Way Dallas, TX 75230
