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Dear Chaverim:
A joyous and thankful Yom Yerushalayim to all. May we see yeshuos in our days as they saw in 1967.
I. First and foremost, I ask that you daven for the son on of one of our dear chaveirim. Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter sent this message earlier today to the RIETS Yarchei Kallah alumni and I am forwarding to the full RCA:
"Ari Sytner has an incredible 17-year-old son, Akiva, who is in desperate need of our tefilot. An otherwise perfectly healthy and athletic young man as late as last week, Akiva is now in the ICU with high fevers, seizures, and fighting an unknown illness around his brain. Please join me in rallying your shuls and communities to daven, learn, and say tehillim for a refuah shelayma for AKIVA SHALOM BEN CHANA ZISSEL. You can also share the following link for people to join the Tehillim WhatsApp group: https://chat.whatsapp.com/DN722KumJAXDp22A240o2o"
II. Convention ’24. There is no way to properly express hakaras hatov for all those who rallied together to make Convention ’24 a tremendous success. Nonetheless, I express appreciation, on behalf of the RCA, to:
- All who attended. We had an amazing crowd of all different ages and from so many different places!
- Co-chairs Binyamin Marwick and Dovid Zirkind. Somehow, you pulled this off in just two months!
- Adam Dubin, for his Herculean efforts in coordinating the event, and Marylin Amar for her critical remote work from Israel.
- Seth Grauer, Wes Kalmar, Dani Cohen, Reuven Tradburks. Lenny Matanky and our President, Zvi Engel, for organizing a beautiful and successful dinner honoring Mark Dratch and the establishment of the Rabbi Mark Dratch Scholar-in-Residence Fund. Many thanks to everyone who participated in donating to this fund.
- Ira Ebbin and Reuven Tradburks for coordinating the Memorial Booklet.
- David Fine, Doniel Kramer for coordinating sections of the program.
- Rav Rimon, our Scholar-in-Residence, and the many speakers who uplifted us.
- The officers, for all of their input before the convention and for stepping-up in my absence at the event.
A picture album, as well as recordings of many of the sessions, can be found here. We look forward to soon getting started on Convention ’25 – iy”H in the conference center of the Beis HaMikdash.
III. Some thoughts on sitting shiva for my mother, hk”m:
I have had the zechus to teach the “Life Cycle” course at RIETS for 20 years, covering the pastoral and halachic aspects of life from pregnancy and birth through aveilus, yud beis chodesh, and hakamas matzeivah. Recently, as I sat shiva for the first time, many people commented, “it must be so different when you are actually the avel.” I was relieved to find that much of what I have advised talmidim about the mindset of an avel was accurate. My guidance, drawn from masters like R. Maurice Lamm, R. Yechiel Michel Tukachinsky, and Dr. Elizabeth Kubler Ross, seemed sound. It was reassuring to feel that I had been providing quality advice to young rabbanim.
However, there were aspects of the shiva experience that I hadn’t fully grasped until I went through it myself. I’d like to share some of these insights with you and my future talmidim at RIETS, in the hope that they might be helpful.
Click here to access.
IV. Principal Group – A recent communication elicited many questions regarding the Principal Group. Yes – they are our partners in managing the RCA Retirement Fund.
V. If possible, I will try to write a few last-minute derashah thoughts for Shavuos and will send on Monday. If I am unable, please pardon the interruption in the flow of material (and reread my piece on getting up from Shiva!).
Wishing you a good Chodesh and a good Shabbos.
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