November 27, 2025 • ז׳ כסלו תשפ״ו | | |
Likrat Shabbat
RCA Updates
In Our RCA Family
Partnered Content
Chomer Lidrush
Manning the Media
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Likrat Shabbat
Ve’sein tal umatar: Don’t forget to remind your kehillos or students to switch on Thursday evening – yom chamishi, December 4th. You can review the laws of “Barech Aleinu” here.
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RCA Updates
1) Dues Renewal 2025
End of the tax year! Please take this time to renew your RCA dues, which are tax deductible where legal, and also take advantage of the Early Bird Discount. Click Here to renew.
2) RCA-Barkai Exchange Parshas Toldos 5786
For Shabbos, Parshas Toldos, our chaver R. Chaim Strauchler spoke in Cong. Netzach Shlomo in Petach Tikvah. Click Here to read his report.
3) Lifnai Velifnim / RCA in-person workshop with Rav Dov Singer! See flyer below.
4) The RCA/BDA Prenuptial Agreement: Important Updates and Clarifications featuring our chaver and Av Beis Din of the Chicago Rabbinical Council, R. Yona Reiss and our chaver and menahel of the Beth Din of America, R. Shlomo Weissmann
Dec. 25, 2025 8:00 PM
Click Here to Register
5) Olim Leadership Conference - Dec. 24, 2025
A joint program between the RCA and Young Israel in Israel.
10am-5pm, in-person in Modiin.
For more information, contact R. Reuven Tradburks at 054-941-4252
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6) R. Dr. Harvey Belovski’s webinar on life-work balance is here. He is available for one-on-one advisement and coaching for members. Speak to me for more details.
7) Ematai's podcast Refuah & Psak featuring our chaver R. Dr. Shlomo Brody is designed for Rabbis to help support their congregants through life's most sensitive moments. Click Here to subscribe. And, don't forget the RCA-Ematai Advanced Directive, Click Here
8) Letter to Mayor-Elect Mamdani
We write to you with deep concern regarding the recent election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York and, in particular, his first public statements following that election. In responding to a protest at Park East Synagogue's Nefesh B'Nefesh event, Mayor-elect Mamdani insinuated that Jewish immigration to Israel constitutes a violation of "international law." This claim is not only unequivocally false, it is reckless.
Click Here to download the letter.
9) Upcoming Executive Committee Meeting
Wednesday, December 3, 2025 at 1:30pm EST
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In Our RCA Family
- Mazel Tov to our chaver Daniel and Rivka Alter on the birth of a granddaughter born to their children Yehuda and Gila Alter
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Mazel Tov to our chaver Ephaim and Rivki Slepoy on the birth of a grandson, born to their to their children Moshe and Shoshana Slepoy
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Condolences to our chaver Abish Rand on the passing of his father Yosef Moshe
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Chomer Lidrush
A week off? A Vacation Shabbos? Chas veshalom! Our kehillos need to learn!
But, if you don’t have a shul simcha this Shabbos, you might try doing something different than the typical Opening-Question-Answer-Message. I stress to my talmidim at Yeshiva that the “pulpit” is your and while you may deliver most derashos in the style above, you can feel free to offer different types of learning experiences in the 10-20 minutes that speak.
Let me suggest two different pieces you might use this Shabbos:
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1) The Divrei Yosef by Rav Yosef Konvitz contains a wealth of derashos worth exploring. His first derasha on Parshas Vayeitzei spans just two pages but offers profound insights when studied closely in the original text with translation. He explores Yaakov's inner world as he flees from Esav, examining the theological questions that weigh on him during this journey. When Yaakov arrives at Har HaMoriah and "vayikach mei'avnei hamakom," Rav Konvitz suggests he draws spiritual strength from the very stones of the akeidah altar. This act of faith brings Yaakov a remarkable vision of Heaven and divine assurances of his survival.
2) Rav Shlomo Goren approaches this story from a different perspective, explaining how Yaakov knew with absolute certainty that he had reached the earthly dwelling place of God: "ain zeh - ki im Beis Elokim, vezeh Sha'ar HaShamayim." According to Rav Goren, Yaakov recognized this sacred place because he encountered a divine name used exclusively in the Temple.
In Parshas Va'eira, God tells Moshe that the Avos were not made aware of the four-letter name of Hashem. Yet Yaakov himself uses that very name when he declares, "Achen yesh Hashem bamakom hazeh!" He was granted a glimpse of the Beis Hamikdash where one could perceive God through His four-letter name.
3) See here for last year’s chomer.
| | Prestige Nonprofit Consulting | |
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Jonathan Haidt: The Devil’s Plan to Ruin the Next Generation
Haidt imagines an AI red-team plan to corrode youth, and argues it mirrors today's phone-based childhood: smartphones and social media fracture attention with dopamine micro-rewards, turn identity into a performative quest for likes, and replace deep ties of family, community, faith and vocation with digital replicas. This has fueled rising concentration problems, anxiety, depression, and a surge in teens agreeing that life feels meaningless across many countries. His solution is a coordinated set of norms delaying smartphones and social media and keeping schools phone-free to restore offline independence, enduring communities, sacred boundaries, real friendship, and sustained focus.
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Read something that made you think? We’d love to read it, too – and then feature it! Drop us a line and let us know how we’re doing.
Did our chomer help you over Yom Tov? Want to see more of less of an idea? Let us know!
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NEW MEMBER APPLICANTS
Thoughts, questions, or comments about the applicants, contact mpenner@rabbis.org
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Rabbi Benjamin Berlin
RIETS
Long Beach, NY
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Rabbi Simon Basalely
RIETS
Great Neck, NY
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Rabbi Eliyahu Tal
Chief Rabbiniate of Israel
Highland Park, NJ
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Meoros Moshe on Pirkei Avos, by our chaver R. Moshe Kurtz. Available for pre-order from Machon Aleh Zayis.
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Halachot: Hagim - A Compendium of the Rulings of the Great Sephardic Authorities, by our chaver R. Yitzchak Berdugo. MosaicaPress.com
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PODCAST: Rabbi Sacks on the Joys and Dangers of Leadership
by Erica Brown, Click Here
Unpacking the Iggerot: Celebrating Thanksgiving
by Moshe Kurtz, Click Here
| | 5th YARTZEIT RABBI FABIAN SCHONFELD, Z"L | | |
Live-stream available, Click Here
This program is free to the public, but registration is required.
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SERIOUSLY INJURED SOLDIERS AND CIVILIANS
(As of November 27, 2025)
| | With thanks to Rav Dovid Fine | | •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• | |
- Who We Are
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Click here to order the RCA Madrikh
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RCA - Assistance in Contract Negotiations, Apply Here
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Exclusive 20% Kodesh Press Discount Code for RCA Members (certain exclusions apply): RCA20
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Exclusive 15% Koren Publishers Discount Code for RCA Members (certain exclusions apply): RabbiRCA
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The RCA Siddur Avodat Halev is available from Koren Publications at a discount by contacting shlomop@korenpub.com
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Interest free loans of up to $5000 are available to RCA chaverim through the Rabbi Myron and Sarah Rakowitz Fund. Please contact Menachem Penner for more information.
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Burial plots are available in the RCA section of Eretz haChaim Cemetery in Bet Shemesh. Contact Dovy Grunbaum, 1-866-437-2210, for details.
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RCA Guidelines and Protocols on Child Safety and Sexual Abuse in a Congregational Setting
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To sign up for the RCA Health Insurance Plan contact Jay Wildstein at the Grober-Imbey Insurance Agency, 516-872-9500 x3027
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RCA Retirement Plan Resources Click Here. For information about the RCA Retirement Plan contact Steven Greenbaum, Altigro Pension Services, at 973-439-0200, ext. 224.
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