Dear Students,
Here I am again. I hope that you find these columns interesting….I am going to begin checking for your responses now that I am in the swing of things and hope to do so on Tuesday mornings when I will update my information to you.
Please remember that I am available at Starbucks on Monday nights at 7:30pm-9pm and Tuesdays around noonish if you want to get together. Wednesday nights I will be leading various discussions and please remember that Wed. Feb. 3 I will be talking about whether the 10 Commandments are Multiple Choice!!! We will meet in Sub I room 205B at 6:30pm this week. Please e-mail me at baft@gmu.edu so we can set up times to meet or call my cell at 703-407-7690.
I hope that we can begin an Ask the Rabbi conversation where you will share questions with me. Please send me any questions that you may have about Judaism or life or the Chicago White Sox!!!( I am a big fan!!!)
A question came my way recently…Someone asked me how to make prayer a regular part of our daily lives. I believe that reciting the Shema in the morning and then again in the evening is a great way to begin and end our days. I remember when I was younger that I would pray before I fell asleep at night and offer a prayer of thanksgiving for all my blessings, ask for forgiveness, and pray for good health and safety for my family members. These private moments added a very special element to my day and gave me a sense of peace.
I will be leading a session about this on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 5pm for those who are able to attend. (Please note the special time since I have a Federation board meeting that night) We will learn how to make prayer a more vital part of our lives, talk about tefillin(and show those who are interested how to wear them, and answer other questions about spirituality.
We also will be discussing what it means to be a Jew by choice and I would be happy to meet with any of you who are interested in learning about converting to Judaism. If you are not available on Feb. 10, please let me know and we can arrange another time to meet.
Please suggest topics for our Wednesday night study sessions. I want these to be meaningful to you.
Finally, and most importantly, please come to the Shabbat dinner on Friday night since my wife, Sue, is helping Sarah and others bake Challah which you will find is the best Challah you ever tasted!!!! Do you think I am biased???? (My wife made me write this…)
See you soon!!!
B’shalom,
Rabbi Bruce Aft
Find me on Facebook