Inside This Issue
Community Outreach News
· Lifting Spirits in South OC; The Circle In Action
· The Circle is in Need
Community Programs News
· Camp Gan Israel Week 1 Report
· Camp Gan Israel Receives Funding from Jewish Federation
Events
· Jewish Music Festival; July 25
What is The Circle? Click Here to find out more.
Community Outreach News:
Lifting Spirits in South OC; The Circle in Action
From the mailbox:
Almost 3 years ago I faced a spiritual crisis in my life. I was in great emotional pain and all the years of personal therapy were not helping me to find a solution of how I could heal this situation. During this time I was at a Bar Mitzvah and the Rabbi spoke of the importance of forgiveness. After the ceremony I walked up and to my surprise I asked the Rabbi if I could speak with him. (At that time Judaism was not the first place I sought spiritual enlightenment.)
I told him my story and my struggle with forgiving those that had hurt me so deeply and yet told by one of the commandments that I was to honor them. He told me that the Rabbi’s had spent many years asking this same question and came to the belief that you forgive 3 times. These words were the beginning of my rebirth of my Judaic soul. I spent over a year meeting with this Rabbi on a monthly basis and looking deeper at my relationship with G-d and His place in my life.
A year ago I met Rabbi Marcus. My father who is in a retirement home kept telling me about this Rabbi who came to visit him at the home. Thinking he was delusional I did not pursue it. He kept telling me the Rabbi wanted to talk with me and gave me his phone number.
Reluctantly I called Rabbi Marcus. Why reluctantly? He was a Chabad Rabbi and I had been “taught and told” these people were radicals. Rabbi and I spoke and we agreed to meet. Feeling this would be best for my relationship with my dad I agreed to meet with him. Little did I know this would be the beginning of an amazing journey that would take me to a spiritual place I only dreamed I could get to.
At the first meeting I told Rabbi my truth about my relationship with my family and what I had been taught by my other Rabbi. Surprisingly he understood what I was saying and agreed with what I had been doing and encouraged me to continue to what was working for me and added that my only job as a son was to be a dutiful child. This was the relief I had been looking for.
Wanting to give something back I offered to provide services for free to any member who needed it. Rabbi invited me to study the Torah with him in order to understand the Chabad. I agreed to do this. Thus began a weekly study where it has become more of a deep personal relationship between 2 men of different lifestyles and lives intersecting and learning more about us while bringing me closer to my Judaic soul.
Today the reason G-d brought Rabbi Marcus into my life became clearer then it ever has. Due to an increased workload I have been unable to meet regularly with Rabbi as I had. In the midst of a painful experience I contacted Rabbi to share with him what was going on. He told me my emotional child was hurt and not to take what had occurred personally. Within moments I remembered what I had learned mere weeks ago about what Moses had stated when he came down from the mountain. “Thou shall not worship any other G-d but one.”
In this one moment a light came over me. I said to Rabbi, “I need to remember, that by giving others power I am forsaking the one and only G-d I pray to.” He laughed and said, “You are half way there.” I thanked him for once again being there when I needed spiritual solace and a reminder that in the end it always comes down to my letting go and letting G-d.
Everyday I sit and listen as people share their pain and joy with me. Everyday I use what I have been taught to help people find their own spiritual healing even if they are not aware of it. I am blessed that I chose to stop listening to the tapes that have been running all my life and started listening the one true voice G-d.
Keep it simple
Keep it spiritual
The Circle is in Need
CJC is not able to keep up with the demand and the calls for help that come in. Your partnership and support are urgently needed. It is this simple; more resources to CJC more people get help. For example we now have many requests for camp scholarships and our scholarship funds have already been disbursed. There are children waiting for our response.
There are many people who are ill and need support during this difficult time. There are many people who need spiritual support, advice and other forms of help. We cannot meet all the needs due to a lack of resources I.e. money and staff. If you can help in any way please contact us ASAP by calling 949 770-1270 or to contribute online click here.
Community Programs News:
Camp Gan Israel Week 1 Report
Camp Gan Israel has concluded its first of six weeks. A special thank you to our dedicated staff for creating a warm and vibrant atmosphere at CGI. According to director Rochel Kantor, “There is a lot of spirit and fun and we have a lot of happy campers”. Go to www.silvergan.com for more details.
Camp Gan Israel Receives Funding from Jewish Federation
Camp Gan Israel has received funding from the Jewish Federation – Passport to Jewish Life Fund. The funds will offset the cost of camp for those campers who applied. CGI would like to thank those who have put this fund together and who have made these funds available so that children can attend camp.
Events:
Jewish Music Festival; July 25
CJC is proud to announce that this years Jewish Music Festival will take place on Sunday, July 25 at CJC of Mission Viejo. The producers have decided that this year admission will be free and open to the public. The rest of the exciting details to follow.