Sara and I are filled with joy as we prepare to celebrate our daughter Risha's Bas Mitzvah this evening. We are extremely grateful to HASHEM for His infinite blessings, including this deliciously sweet little girl now entering into young womanhood as a proud young Jewish woman.

This is quite "Bashert" and appropriate, as well as the fact that we will be celebrating this month's "Sisterhood Family Shabbat" on the eve of Mother's Day, in celebration of the women of Chabad.

It is further significant to dedicate our Shabbat prayers to the Sisterhood once each month, because it was a woman, Chana the Prophetess, after whom Jewish prayer is modeled. And it is in the merit of the prayers of our Matriarch, Mother Rachel, that the Jewish people remain forever protected and blessed.

Kiddush luncheon will be honoring the birthday of a Jewish woman, Suzanne Kolen, while the Dvar Torah will be delivered by Risha.

Please join us! 9:30 services, 10:15 Torah reading, lunch at noon.

Please also register to join us for next Shabbat's special Holocaust Memorial Shabbaton with Rabbi Dr. Laibl Wolf, which we organize each year in honor of the memory of Reb Zelik Sanders. Thank you Marcy & Manny Shurka for sponsoring this very special event. Click here for details and to rsvp. I hope you can join us.

While I'm busy kvelling, please take a look at our son Mendel's article below describing his Passover trip to Lima, Peru where he led a Chabad communal Seder for 500 Israeli tourists. Very special!

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Shalom M. Paltiel

P.S. Mincha tonight will be at 6:15pm, Bat Mitzvah program & Shabbat service at 6:30pm.